Enzyme discovery could aid lignin-based biofuels

Biorefining Magazine
By Luke Geiver June 16, 2011

University of Warwick professor Timothy Bugg hopes a new lignin-degrading enzyme found in bacteria will help unlock previously unattainable sources of biofuel feedstock. With help from researchers at the University of British Columbia, Bugg has discovered bacteria found in the soil, Rhodococcus jostii, which possess the ability to break down lignin. The research efforts were supported by the Engineering and Physical Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council based in the U.K.

One of the most important aspects of the research, according to Bugg, is the enzyme present in a vehicle like bacteria as opposed to fungi. “Groups have been working on lignin-metabolizing enzymes from fungi since the mid 1980s,” he said, “but I was interested in reports that bacteria could also break down lignin. I think working with bacterial enzymes offers some potential advantage.” Those advantages start with the molecular biology of bacteria, which Bugg pointed out “is more straightforward.” The process to express the recombinant proteins is more straightforward, he said, “and it’s realistic to find thermophillic enzymes that could be very useful for biotechnology.”

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