14 DAY TRIAL // The whole world is on the rush for biofuel production, as the oil tap seems to stop soon. Corn is currently employed for producing ethanol, but the method proved very little environmentally friendly and comes at the same price as oil.
Now, Cornell researchers have discovered a method of producing less expensive cellulosic biofuel: the employment of plant enzymes that could allow any plant materials to be broken down to simple components that, by fermentation, would produce ethanol. Biofuel from cellulose comes as such low prices as this is the most abundant and available product in nature, found in from straws to plant wastes. The only problem in producing cellulosic ethanol is breaking down a plant's cell wall; the resulting sugars are fermented like any other sugars to ethanol.
Currently microbial enzymes called "cellulases" are used to digest cellulose from grasses or soft wood like rapidly growing poplars. The microbial enzymes can also break down cell wall material called lignocellulose (a mix of lignin (similar to cellulose) and cellulose).
Still, a new class of plant enzymes with a similar structure could boom the ethanol production from cheap materials. "The bottleneck for conversion of lignocellulose into ethanol is efficient cellulose degradation. The discovery of these enzymes suggests there might be sets of new plant enzymes to improve the efficiency of cellulose degradation." said Jocelyn Rose, Cornell assistant professor of plant biology.
Scientists have known that plants had cellulase like enzymes, but they did not find a cellulose-binding module, necessary for an effective digestion of the cellulose. "This is the first example of a cellulose-binding domain in a plant cell wall enzyme," said Rose.
By now, the enzyme was found in the tomato plant, but it could be found in many species with potential use for biofuel production. "Biofuel research may also help uncover exciting new uses for these enzymes," said Rose.
Researchers may, for example, breed for plants with high levels of these proteins. In plant, these enzymes could be necessary for loosening the cells in the rapidly growing tissues or breaking down tissues, as when fruits get ripe.