Lignocellulose degradation is a key process in both the biofuel production and the carbon cycling in environment. For this reason, intensive studies in this field have been going on for long time. Bacteria and fungi are the main organisms that involve in this process. In order to effectively utilize the refractory carbon source from lignocellulose, bacteria have to synergistically interact with each other to facilitate the degradation of plant biomass. This is especially true in the environment. Understanding how different bacteria interact in lignocellulose degradation can be very useful in developing new technology for biofuel production. This knowledge will also help disclose the black box of the process of carbon cycling in ecosystem.
Metagenomics is very powerful in analyzing compositions of bacteria community degrading plant biomass. However, it tells little about the functions and activities of each bacteria populations, let alone interactions among bacteria.
How about co-cultures and bacteria consortia? Many studies using bacteria co-cultures or consortia from rumen fluid or termite gut and found that they significantly increased cellulose degradation and/or biofuel production, compare to single cultures. So far, most studies are still repeating screen work, hoping to find the treasure by fortune. I ask myself what is the point for those studies. They provide very little mechanisms about bacterial interactions. Without understanding the underlying mechanisms or principles, it is hard to design/develop efficient bacterial consortia system for biofuel production.
Bacterial cellulosome is found more efficient in cellulose degradation than free fungal cellulases, probably due to multiple enzymes acting together. I am interested in bacteria degradation of complex compound such as cellulose, xylan and lignin all together. In this case, synergistic interactions among different bacteria seems to be more efficient.
Anaerobic fungi are more efficient at cellulosic degradation than aerobic fungi. If you are looking for a multi-species method for decomposing cellulose then look at rumen. The technology has recently received a patent (US Patent 8, 367,372). If you would like to receive more information about the process, please contact me.
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