23 September 2009

Mutant fungus: From tent rot to biofuels

During World War II, Trichoderma reesei frustrated American Army quartermasters in the South Pacific by speeding up the rate at which canvas supplies wore out.

Now the same fungus is a key producer of industrial enzymes that break down biomass for biofuel production.

In 50 short years, the fungus has gone from being the bane of the Army quartermasters’ existence in the Pacific to industry staple and to someday being a part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s mission to promote national energy security through clean, renewable energy development, a biofuel producers’ best friend.

Trichoderma reesei’s makeover is due in part to scientific explorations that led to the development of mutant fungal strains that produce large quantities of biomass-degrading enzymes.

Now an international team of researchers led by scientists at the DOE Joint Genome Institute, the French applied research center IFP (which focuses on renewable resources and energies) and the Vienna University of Technology (TU Vienna) provides the first genome-wide look at what these mutations are in order to understand just how cellulase production was first improved, and how it can be boosted even further.

Part of the makeover comes by the scientists who developed high cellulase-producing strains of the fungus through several rounds of treating the fungus with a variety of mutagens and then screening the resulting mutant strains to select those in which cellulase production increased.

For related information, go to www.isa.org/environment.