Many ligninolytic fungi appear to lack lignin peroxidase (LiP), the enzyme generally thought to cleave the major, recalcitrant, nonphenolic structures in lignin. At least one such fungus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, is nevertheless able to degrade these nonphenolic structures. Experiments showed that wood block cultures and defined liquid medium cultures of C. subvermispora rapidly depolymeriz...

BACKGROUND For cellulosic biofuels processes, suitable characterization of the lignin remaining within the cell wall and correlation of quantified properties of lignin to cell wall polysaccharide enzymatic deconstruction is underrepresented in the literature. This is particularly true for grasses which represent a number of promising bioenergy feedstocks where quantification of grass lignins is...

Interest in recovering and valorizing agricultural biomass residues has increased in recent years in response to emerging economic opportunities and the potential for more sustainable use of renewable and nonrenewable resources. Agricultural crop residues are a major source of lignocellulose, with considerable potential for use as a renewable resource and lignin’s polyphenolic structure makes i...

CRYOSTAT MICROTOME SECTIONS OF BIRCH WOOD DEGRADED BY WHITE ROT FUNGI WERE EXAMINED BY LIGHT MICROSCOPY AFTER TREATMENT WITH TWO STAINS: astra-blue, which stains cellulose blue only in the absence of lignin, and safranin, which stains lignin regardless of whether cellulose is present. The method provided a simple and reliable screening procedure that distinguishes between fungi that cause decay...

Biofuels and biomaterials, produced from lignocellulosic feedstock, require facile access to cellulose and hemicellulose to be competitive with petroleum processing and sugar-based fermentation. Physical-chemical barriers resulting from lignin complicates the hydrolysis biomass into fermentable sugars. Thus, the amount of lignin within a substrate is critical in determining biomass processing. ...

The primary goal of this study was to isolate hydrocarbon-degrading organisms and assess their ability to bioremediate petroleum-contaminated soil and water. Nigeria is one of the major oil producing countries and petroleum contamination is widespread in agricultural soil. Alcaligenes sp. strain 3k was isolated from a kerosene-polluted soil in Ilorin, Nigeria. We also assessed its ability to de...

White-rot basidiomycetes are one of the most important lignolytic microorganisms. These fungi have been reported to secrete three main classes of lignin degrading enzymes: lignin peroxidases (LiPs), manganese peroxidases (MnPs) and laccases. In this study, for the first time the lignin degrading capability of two plant pathogens i.e. Hyphodermella rosae and H. corrugata was evaluated using both...

Caffeoyl coenzyme A O-methyltransferase (CCoAOMT) has recently been shown to participate in lignin biosynthesis in herbacious tobacco plants. Here, we demonstrate that CCoAOMT is essential in lignin biosynthesis in woody poplar (Populus tremula x Populus alba) plants. In poplar stems, CCoAOMT was found to be expressed in all lignifying cells including vessel elements and fibers as well as in xy...

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The bio-conversion of plant lignocellulose to glucose is an key component of second generation biofuel production, but the resistance of lignin to breakdown is a major obstacle in this process. Filamentous fungi possess the unique ability to decompose the aromatic lignin polymers using enzymes encoded by divergent gene families. White-rot fungi are the primary lignin-d...

Lignin availability has increased significantly due to the commercialization of several processes for recovery and further development of alternatives for integration into Kraft pulp mills. Also, progress in lignin characterization, understanding of its chemistry as well as processing methods have resulted in the identification of novel lignin-based products and potential derivatives, which can...