The cow's stomach holds the secret to turning corn into biofuel

According to Michigan State University scientists, enzymes from a type of bacteria living in cow's stomach hold the secret to turning corn plants into fuel. Enzymes help cows digest grass and other plant fibers can be used to turn plant fibers into simple sugars. Single sugars are used to produce ethanol to power cars and trucks.

Michigan State University scientists have discovered how to grow corn with this enzyme. They transplanted genes from bacteria living in the stomach crawling into corn. The sugar in the leaves and stems can be converted into usable sugar without expensive synthetic chemicals.

The image on the corn process is modified to produce a sugar-release enzyme in leaves and stems for ethanol production.
(Photo by Gordon Shetler)

Mariam Sticklen, a Michigan State University professor of Soil and Crop Science, said: 'We can separate a gene that produces enzymes in cow's stomach and then transplant it into plant cells; That means we are fully capable of turning things away into biofuels'.

She gave a speech at the 235th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society held in New Orleans. This new study is also presented in the June issue of Nature Review Genetics titled 'Plant genetic engineering for biofuel production: Towards producing low-cost cellulose ethanol'.

With the help of bacteria living in the stomach, the cow can turn plant fiber (also called cellulose) into energy. This is also a big step forward for the biofuel industry. For the traditional biofuel industry, only corn grains are used to produce ethanol. But this research has allowed us to use every part of corn, which is why we will generate more fuel while the cost is lower.

To convert fiber into sugar requires the coordination of three enzymes. The new variety of corn researched for biofuel production, called Spartan Corn III, is based on Sticklen's earlier version of corn, which also has three essential enzymes.

The first version released in 2007 could cut cellulose into large parts thanks to enzymes derived from bacteria that live in hot springs.

Spartan Corn II (containing a mushroom-derived gene) will receive large cellulose sections cut from the first stage to break them into double sugar.

Spartan Corn III contains genes from a bacterium that lives in the stomach, producing an enzyme that can separate double sugar molecules into simple sugars. Simple sugars are easily converted into ethanol. This means that when cellulose is converted to simple sugars, ethanol can be produced.

Sticklen said: 'This is a very economical ethanol production process. We can't turn things away into ethanol without buying enzymes. That's very expensive. '

Spartan Corn corn is created by transplanting the animal stomach bacteria gene into plant cells. The bacterial gene fragment requires careful and meticulous manipulation to make it work well in plant cells. Sticklen compares this process to bringing the light of a Christmas tree together with a tree in the sunlit space.

Sticklen said: 'We have a lot of branch circuits, operating sections and partitions. Besides, there are many changes. We need to increase the production rate and even have to put it in the right place in the cell. '
If the cell produces enzymes in the wrong place, the cell will not function properly, even it will digest itself. That's why Sticklen had to find a specific place to insert enzymes.

One of the targets for producing enzymes in Spartan Corn III is a specific part of plant cells called vacuoles. The vacuole is a very safe place to store enzymes until harvest. Enzymes collect cell waste and store in vacuole.

Because vacuoles are only present in the green tissues of plant cells, enzymes can only be produced on leaves and stalks, not seeds, roots or pollen. Enzymes can only work when used to make biofuels because they are stored in vacuoles.

According to Sticklen, 'Spartan Corn III corn is a big step forward in science and technology and is a very significant step. We are getting closer to the goal of producing biofuels for our own countries . '