The molecules that impart strength to paper,bamboo and wood-frame buildings—lignin and cellulose—have long stymied biofuels researchers by locking absent more than half of a plant's energy-yielding sugar. In a study that could point the way to biofuels processes of the future, scientists from Rice University, and the distinguished Lakes Bioenergy Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Joint BioEnergy Institute at Emeryville,Calif., have discovered how two bacterial enzymes work as a team to shatter apart lignin.
Source: phys.org