A New Lead Into Lignin Enzyme Discovery from Termite Study

A team of scientists who have been studying the digestive system of the termite insect and the microorganisms living in its gut have found new evidence that may allow them to track down the genes involved in the breakdown of lignin, the tough material in plant cell wall that inhibits the conversion of its starch into sugars destined for fermentation into biofuel.

The Purdue University has reported the work of its leading entomologist and his collaborators who have been studying the termite's symbionts or microorganisms that live in its gut and aid in wood digestion. Initially the scientists focused on symbiotic bacteria but recent results of their study suggest that other groups of symbionts are helping the insect to degrade wood. When the termites were fed diets of wood or paper, the composition of bacterial population in the insect's gut was unchanged, suggesting that bacteria probably do not have anything to do with wood digestion. Instead they found that the genes expressed by the host termite and another group of symbionts called protists showed more significant changes in response to diet shift.

About 500 genes from the host termite and symbiotic protists responded to lignin-rich diets, which the scientists now see as potential genes involved in lignin breakdown. Tracking down and understanding these genes may lead to a new breakthrough in enzyme discovery toward more efficient production of second generation and advanced biofuels. The most recent scientific article that described this finding is published in the journal Molecular Ecology.