How tiny enzymes reign supreme in worldwide carbon recycling
Wednesday, December 4, 2019 - 13:20
in Physics & Chemistry
The recycling of most of the carbon in nature depends on the breakdown of two polymers in woody matter, notably cellulose and lignin. In a paper just published in the journal Biochemistry, Richard Wolfenden, Ph.D., and colleague Charles Lewis, Ph.D., both in the UNC Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, show the extent to which enzymes from woodland fungi accelerate the breakdown of lignin, a complex polymer held together entirely by ether linkages.