Producing energy from termite gut

Termites will no longer be human troubles if scientists succeed in finding new sources of energy from these organisms. A type of bacteria in the gut that converts wood into sugars, can be used to run applications, such as cars.

Currently, a number of alternative energy sources such as ethanol can only be produced from certain crops, such as corn. But in the production process, only the grain is used; and other parts such as stems, stalks, and leaves need to break down the structure of cellulose - a very complex molecule, into sugar substance before being converted into energy.

Bacteria can help turn this ability into reality because they secrete an enzyme that breaks down the structure of cellulose and other complexes . Scientists at the American Institute of Bioenergy Research (JDI) are conducting tests on over 100 different bacterial samples in the termite gut to realize this ability.

Researchers have identified two types of bacteria that secrete wood-degrading enzymes. According to Phil Hugenholtz, co-author of the Nature paper, one of the two bacterial species, fibrobacters has relatives with another bacterium that breaks down cellulose found in beef intestines. This bacterium is also being investigated for use in bio-energy production processes.

However, according to Eddy Rubin - Director of JGI: 'Applying the above process to production on an industrial scale is not easy. Termites can convert milliliters of lignocelluloses into fermentable sugars, but scaling this process for bioenergy production is another. To do that, researchers need to do many other works to identify the gene group that can break down cellulose structures. '

(Photo: LiveScience)