Enzymes
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Sequencing of Fungus Genome Opens Opportunities for Improvements in Biofuels Enzymes
May 05, 2008
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| Microscope image of T. reesei hyphae with vesicle membranes stained red and cell wall chitin in blue. Click to enlarge. Courtesy of Mari Valkonen, VTT Finland. |
The genome analysis of the fungus Trichoderma reesei, notorious for the deterioration of fatigues and tents in the South Pacific theater of WWII, highlights opportunities for further improvements in enzymes customized for biofuels production. The results were published online 4 May in Nature Biotechnology by an international team of government, academic, and industry researchers led by the US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) and Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL).
The progenitor strain of T. reesei has yielded variants for broad industrial applications and is known today as an abundant source of enzymes, particularly cellulases and hemicellulases, currently being explored to catalyze the deconstruction of plant cell walls as a first step towards the production of biofuels from lignocellulose.
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Genencor Launches First Commercial Enzyme Product for Cellulosic Ethanol
October 15, 2007
Genencor, a division of Danisco A/S, introduced Accellerase 1000, the first commercially available biomass enzyme developed specifically for second generation biorefineries. Accellerase 1000 contains a complex of enzymes that reduces complex lignocellulosic biomass into fermentable sugars.
Genencor has been developing its biomass enzymes for more than 10 years. The effort was partially supported by contracts with the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
