Breakthrough on Cellulose Research May Greatly Benefit Biofuels and Battling Infections

A new discovery by scientists on the production of cellulose may have a great impact on biofuel production and battle against bacterial infections. The findings are of particular interest to the US Department of Energy, which is seeking ways to break down plant cells more easily to facilitate the production of biofuels. Understanding the production and deposition of cellulose, the primary component of plants' cell walls, may lead to new ways to tear it down or create plants with weaker walls.

In a paper published in the online edition of Nature on Dec. 9, scientists from the University of Virginia mapped out the three-dimensional architecture of the enzyme complex responsible for cellulose production. The researchers first determined the components necessary to produce and secrete cellulose and then solved the structure of the enzyme complex. Their study reveals how new cellulose polymers are extruded from a cell through a channel, a bit like a spider spinning a thread of spider silk, and how this process is intimately linked to the formation of cellulose.

For more information, visit http://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-research-may-offer-big-benefits-biofuels-and-battling-infections.