New Plant Enzymes Could Boost Ethanol Production from Cellulose

A new enzyme found in a tomato plant by Cornell researchers could make the production of ethanol from cellulose less expensive. The class of plant enzymes allows plant materials used to make ethanol to be broken down more efficiently than is possible using current technologies.

"This is the first example of a cellulose-binding domain in a plant cell wall enzyme," said Jocelyn Rose, co-author of the paper. Rose and colleagues have evidence of a set of such plant proteins in many species that potentially could be used for biofuel production. Biofuel research may also help uncover new uses for these enzymes, according to Rose.

Researchers may, for example, breed for plants with high levels of these proteins. Read the news release at http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/April07/Biofuels.rose.kr.html.