New insights into biomass breakdown provided by scientists
Friday, June 6, 2014 - 11:32
in Biology & Nature
How a recently discovered family of enzymes can degrade hard-to-digest biomass into its constituent sugars has been the focus of new study. The enzymes - lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases (LPMOs) - are secreted by both fungi and bacteria and have the ability to 'chip away' at cellulose and other intractable materials. This allows cellulosic materials such as plant stems, wood chips and cardboard waste, as well as other tricky polysaccharides such as insect/crustacean shells, to be broken down.