Biofuels can be a way to make energy come from renewable resources and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but at present, producing them from corn and other edible plants is very impractical.
Now, a group of researchers believe they have found a solution – in the panda's droppings.
Microbes from giant panda feces break up super-hardy plant material in grass, corn stalks and wood chips, the researchers reported Monday (Aug. 29) at the American Chemical Society's National Meeting and Expo in Denver. If the technique works on a large scale, inedible plants and plant waste could be used as biofuels instead of edible corn.
"Who would have guessed that 'panda poop' can help solve one of the main obstacles to biofuel production, which is optimizing the decomposition of the plant feedstock used to make the fuel? Study researcher Ashli Brown, a biochemist at Mississippi State University, said in a statement. "We hope our research will help expand the use of biofuels in the future and help we move away from foreign oil."
Brown and his colleagues spent a year collecting and analyzing panda feces at the Memphis Zoo.
In the droppings, several types of digestive bacteria similar to the bacteria found in the gut of termites were found. These bacteria help termites break down and digest wood. In pandas, it probably helps with the digestion of woody bamboo shoots.
"Our studies suggest that species of bacteria in the panda's gut may be more efficient at degrading plant materials than termite bacteria and can do so in a way that is better for biofuel manufacturing," Brown said.
Under certain conditions, panda poop bacteria can break down 95 percent of plant biomass into simple sugars, Brown estimated. Powerful enzymes in bacteria accelerate chemical reactions, eliminating the need for high temperatures, strong acids, and the high pressures currently used to produce biofuels. Bacteria would also be a more energy-efficient way to convert materials like millet, corn stalks and wood chips into fuel, Brown said.
The next step for Brown is a complete census of the panda's intestines. She is in search of the most powerful digestive enzymes. Using genetic engineering, scientists could program yeast cells to make these enzymes, he said. Yeast, in turn, could provide large amounts of enzymes for the production of biofuels.
The study was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, the Zoological Society of Memphis, the Mississippi Corn Promotion Board and the Southeast Mississippi State Research Center.
FG_AUTHORS: Val Escobedo
