Inedible Plant Enzymes Discovered, May Lead to Biofuel Production

DailyTech.com
Tiffany Kaiser - September 14, 2010 12:09 PM

Researchers from the University of Cambridge, who are funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and are now part of the BBSRC Sustainable Bioenergy Centre, have found plant enzymes that usually make energy hard to extract when it is stored in straw, wood and many other non-edible plant parts. This discovery can improve the "viability" of sustainable biofuels without negatively affecting the food chain.

The research team, led by Professor Paul Dupree, studied and identified genes for two different types of enzymes that make straw, stalks and wood tough, and also make sugars hard to extract in order to make bioethanol. Knowing which enzymes make extraction difficult can help crop-breeding programs produce non-edible plant parts that require less chemicals, energy and processing when being converted into renewable products like biofuels.

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