Researchers find new source of biofuel from rainforest fungus

Img: Prof. Gary Strobel. Credit: MSU

U.S. researchers have discovered a fungus deep in the Patagonian rainforest that has the potential to be used as a new source of biofuel.

Scientists from Montana State University (MSU) found that the fungus produces a number of gases normally associated with diesel fuel, which is extracted from crude oil. Named Gliocladium roseum, researchers discovered the fungus living in ancient Ulmo trees in the rainforest region bording Chile and Argentina.

"These are the first organisms that have been found that make many of the ingredients of diesel," Professor Gary Strobel of MSU plant sciences and plant pathology said. "This is a major discovery."

Img: Microscope photo of Gliocladium roseum, the myco-diesel producing fungus. Credit: MSU

Though government agencies and private companies have shown an interest in exploiting the fungus as a fuel Prof. Strobel said there may be many difficulties in using the fungus to eventually power engines. He suggested the chief benefit the world could extract from the fungus may be in unlocking its ability to convert cellulose into myco-diesel.

"The main value of this discovery may not be the organism itself, but may be the genes responsible for the production of these gases," Strobel said. "There are certain enzymes that are responsible for the conversion of substrates such as cellulose to myco-diesel."

"The broader question is, what is responsible for the production of these compounds," added Strobel's son Scott, who is also a member of the research team. "If you can identify that, you can hopefully scale it up so you end up with better efficiency of production."

Prof. Strobel is also the lead author of a related paper published in the journal Microbiology.

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