Termites help biofuel cause

One of the peskiest household pests, while disastrous to homes, could prove to be a boon for cars, according to a Purdue University study.

Mike Scharf, the O Wayne Rollins/ Orkin Chair in Molecular Physiology and Urban Entomology, said his laboratory had discovered a cocktail of enzymes from the guts of termites that may be better at getting around the barriers that inhibit fuel production from woody biomass. The study found enzymes in termite guts were instrumental in the insects' ability to break down the wood they eat. The findings, published in the early online version of the journal PLoS One, are the first to measure the sugar output from enzymes created by termites and the output from symbionts, small protozoa that live in termite guts and aid in digestion of woody material.

Scharf and his research partners separated the termite guts, testing portions that did and did not contain symbionts on sawdust to measure the sugars created. Once the enzymes were identified, Scharf and his team worked with Chesapeake Perl, a protein production company in Maryland, to create synthetic versions. The genes responsible for creating the enzymes were inserted into a virus and fed to caterpillars, which then produce large amounts of the enzymes. Tests showed the synthetic versions of the host termite enzymes were also very effective at releasing sugar from the biomass.

Sugars from plant material are essential in creating biofuels. “We've found a cocktail of enzymes that create sugars from wood,” Scharf said. “We were also able to see for the first time that the host and the symbionts can synergistically produce these sugars.” Scharf said his laboratory and collaborators would now work on identifying the symbiont enzymes that could be combined with termite enzymes to release the greatest amount of sugars from woody material. Combining those enzymes would increase the amount of biofuel that should be available from biomass.