Digesting the Termite Digestome – A Way to Make Biofuels?

If the biofuel known as **bioethanol** is to make a major contribution to our fuel supplies, then we may well require the assistance of some tiny **insect** helpers, says Michael Scharf, an assistant professor of entomology at the University of Florida, Gainesville. In a review to be published in Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining, Scharf and his colleague Aurélien Tartar describe how the **enzymes** produced by both **termites** and the **micro-organisms** that inhabit their gut – known as symbionts – could help to produce **ethanol** from non-edible plant material such as straw and wood. "AlphaGalileo.org":[ http://www.alphagalileo.org/index.cfm?_rss=1&fuseaction=readrelease&releaseid=533166]

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