Commodity Online
After jatropha, corn and wheat, it is the turn of mushrooms. Scientists are now busy with experiments on mushrooms to make biofuel from a fungi found in small button-type mushrooms.

With the global warming scene causing concerns across the world, people fear that today’s best alternatives — biofuels from corn and soy — will be destructive to the planet in certain ways as farmers in developing nations cut and burn forests to grow new crops.

With this concern growing, researchers started exploiting other alternatives. The result was that an Israeli scientist, Prof Amir Sharon, discovered some fungi in the form of a genetically-modified mushroom that yields a large biomass which can be converted into a first-rate biofuel.

Sharon and his team developed a transformation-based approach to cultivating fungi (Aspergillus niger) which means that they have genetically-engineered them to be less sensitive to external conditions and environmental stresses. The mushrooms are more sustainable in culture during fermentation, and have both enhanced growth rate and spore production.

As a result, the fungal cultures exhibit a dramatic increase in fresh and dry biomass production, reduced sensitivity to stress conditions, enhanced spore production and extended viability.
After this, more research was conducted in the area and scientists at University of Warwick are coordinating a global effort to sequence the genome of the mushroom Agaricus bisporus — also known as the table or button mushroom. A better understanding of the mushroom’s genome could assist in the creation of biofuels, support the effort to manage global carbon, and help remove heavy metals from contaminated soils.

The Agaricus mushrooms are highly efficient secondary decomposers of plant material such as leaves and litter, breaking down the material that is too tough for other fungi and bacteria to handle.

By sequencing the full genome of the mushroom, researchers hope to uncover exactly which genes are key to this process. That information will be useful to scientists and engineers looking to maximize the decomposition and transformation of plant material into biofuels.

The mushroom also forms an important model for carbon cycling studies. Carbon is sequestered in soils as plant organic matter. Between 1–2 gigatonnes of carbon per year are sequestered in pools on land in the temperate and boreal regions of the earth, which represents 15–30% of annual global emissions of carbon from fossil fuels and industrial activities. Understanding the carbon cycling role of these fungi in the forests and other ecosystems is an important component of optimizing carbon management.

The mushroom research has reached another stage now with scientists saying that a solution to the world’s energy problems may lie in a Chinese mushroom growing in Novozymes A/S laboratories.

The Danish company’s scientists are testing mushrooms and lichen to find one that will turn corn cobs and sugarcane stalks into biofuel. An affordable alternative to gasoline made from plant waste would end concerns that global hunger for energy is driving up food prices worldwide.

Fungi like mushrooms and lichen make enzymes to eat rotting logs and decaying leaves. Biofuel producers use the proteins to break down the complex carbohydrates in plant cells into a soup-like mixture of simple sugars that yeast can eat. In a process much like making beer, yeast ferments the mixture, producing ethanol. Enzymes now on the market can’t break down the tougher parts of plants effectively enough to be affordable.

Post your comment  (0)

Connect:

Post to Twitter

Post to Facebook