Microbial degradation of lignocellulosic biomass: discovery of novel natural lignocellulolytic bacteria

Microbial Degradation of Lignocellulosic Biomass

Engineering microbial surfaces to degrade lignocellulosic biomass

Renewable lignocellulosic plant biomass is a promising feedstock from which to produce biofuels, chemicals, and materials. One approach to cost-effectively exploit this resource is to use consolidating bioprocessing (CBP) microbes that directly convert lignocellulose into valuable end products. Because many promising CBP-enabling microbes are non-cellulolytic, recent work has sought to engineer...

Engineered microbial systems for enhanced conversion of lignocellulosic biomass.

In order for plant biomass to become a viable feedstock for meeting the future demand for liquid fuels, efficient and cost-effective processes must exist to breakdown cellulosic materials into their primary components. A one-pot conversion strategy or, consolidated bioprocessing, of biomass into ethanol would provide the most cost-effective route to renewable fuels and the realization of this t...

Cultivation of lipid-producing bacteria with lignocellulosic biomass: effects of inhibitory compounds of lignocellulosic hydrolysates.

Lignocellulosic biomass has been recognized as a promising feedstock for the fermentative production of biofuel. However, the pretreatment of lignocellulose generates a number of by-products, such as furfural, 5-hydroxylmethyl furfural (5-HMF), vanillin, vanillic acids and trans-p-coumaric acid (TPCA), which are known to inhibit microbial growth. This research explores the ability of Rhodococcu...

NextGen microbial natural products discovery

Small-molecule secondary metabolites isolated from microorganisms and plants provide the chemical scaffolds of a large fraction of today’s pharmaceuticals. Evolutionary forces shaped the molecular complexity of these natural products that contribute to the exquisite binding of these compounds to biological targets. Starting with the discovery of penicillin by Fleming, we have seen a rapid incre...