Researchers find that lignin-decomposable bacteria contribute to non-food biofuel production

British researchers report that they have discovered that a bacterium has the ability to break down lignin in wood and other plants, which helps to use the stems from the trees and the remaining stalks after harvest to extract biofuels.

The branches of trees and the stalks of many plants usually contain a large amount of lignin that is difficult to decompose, so the efficiency of using them to refine biofuels is greatly reduced.

Researchers from institutions such as the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom reported in a new issue of the Journal of Biochemistry that a Rhodococcus may help solve this problem because it secretes an enzyme that has the ability to break down lignin.

The researchers said that some fungi have previously been found to secrete similar enzymes, but this study found for the first time that bacteria can secrete this enzyme. Bacteria are easier to culture, and the genome of this Rhodococcus has already been sequenced, and it is easier to use genetic means to change the bacteria and use it to mass produce enzymes that decompose lignin.

Professor Timothy Bug, head of research, said that now one direction for the development of biofuels is not to conflict with food production, but to use waste stems to extract biofuels, and this research result is expected to be used in industrialization. The large-scale decomposition of lignin greatly contributes to the development of biofuels.