SMALL PRINT:Scientists prospecting in a hot spring in Nevada have identified an enzyme that can break down plant material at staggeringly high temperatures.
The researchers, from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Maryland School of Medicine, scooped microbes from the geothermal pool, which bubbles along at nearly 95 degrees.
When the team grew these samples, they found three species of Archaea microbes that could break down cellulose, a fibrous material in plants. From there, they pinpointed a cellulase enzyme that can break down plant fibres at high temperatures. The robustness of this protein under these seemingly harsh conditions could help point to thermophilic (heat-loving) enzymes that are well suited to biofuel production.
“These are the most thermophilic Archaea discovered that will grow on cellulose and the most thermophilic cellulase in any organism,” says co-author Prof Douglas S Clark of UC Berkeley in an article on the university’s website.
“This discovery is interesting because it helps define the range of natural conditions under which cellulolytic organisms exist and how prevalent these bugs are in the natural world. It indicates that there are a lot of potentially useful cellulases in places we haven’t looked yet.”
He added that such findings could have applications in industry. “Our hope is that this example and examples from other organisms found in extreme environments – such as high-temperature, highly alkaline or acidic, or high-salt environments – can provide cellulases that will show improved function under conditions typically found in industrial applications, including the production of biofuels.”
Details of the research were published online this week in Nature Communications.