Animal Gut Fungi Breaks Down Biomass Easily and Cheaply

The fungal kingdom is the source of almost all industrial enzymes in use for lignocellulose bioprocessing. Scientists from various research institutions, led by Michelle A. O'Malley from the University of California Santa Barbara, analyzed relatively unexplored fungi from the guts of herbivores.

Anaerobic gut fungi isolated from herbivores, such as goats, sheep and horses, produce a large array of biomass-degrading enzymes that synergistically degrade crude, untreated plant biomass. These were found comparable to commercial enzymes from Aspergillus and Trichoderma.

The gut fungal enzymes were also found to have no substrate preference, as the fungi adapt their enzymes to wood, grass or any agricultural waste fed to them. The industry could modify the gut fungi to produce improved enzymes that will outperform the best available ones, leading to cheaper biofuels and bio-based products.