Researchers fuse yeast, fungus DNA for new cellulosic ethanol super-process

In California, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory has taken genes from Neospora crassa, a fungus that grows on grass and transplanted them into yeast that is already used to turn sugar into ethanol into what may be a more efficient process for cellulosic ethanol.

With the new technique, cellulose must only be broken down into an intermediate stage known as cellodextrin, rather than into glucose, and the new yeast will get to work. It could be five years before the new technique is ready for commercial use.

In related news, the DOE has granted researchers at the University of California, Berkeley-hosted Energy Biosciences Institute $793,000 for a three-year program to study the genetic diversity of corn to create better strains for biofuels.

Read Full Article