Fuel for Insects, Fuel for Cars: Using Gut Microbes and Enzymes as a Catalyst to a New Future of Biofuel

Creating efficient biofuels is a challenge. Lignin, a component of the cell wall of plants, is leftover as waste when other molecules in the plant are converted to ethanol. Breaking down lignin and using it in the production of fuel could a...dvance biofuel production as well as keep more greenhouse gasses from being released when the lignin is burned as waste.

The key to converting lignin to ethanol may be in the guts of insects. Herbivorous insects host an array of microbes and enzymes in their guts that break molecules, like cellulose and lignin, down. A recent study compared the genome of microbes found in grasshoppers, cutworms, and termites and linked the diversity and ability to break down those components to the diet of the species. In the words of the corresponding author, Joshua Yuan, "The study reveals that insect gut microbes evolve to adapt to different food types."

A grant from The U.S. Department from Energy will help Yuan and his fellow researchers at Texas A&M University explore enzymes found in termite guts and microbes as a way of using lignin for biofuel.

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