Improved test can screen fungal pests for biofuel sources

PhysOrg.com
February 12th, 2009 By Sarah Perdue in General Science / Biology

A report about their method is available online and will be published in a forthcoming issue of the journal Biotechnology and Bioengineering.

To make ethanol from plants, complex cellulose molecules in plant cell walls need to be broken down into simple sugars that are then fermented into ethanol. Plant pathogenic fungi have evolved to quickly and efficiently break down cell walls as they infect plants, making them an untapped resource in the search for cheap bioethanol, said Marie Donnelly, a graduate student in biological and environmental engineering and a co-lead author of the study.

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