Panda Poop Microbes Could Make Biofuels of the Future

Unlikely as it may sound, giant pandas Ya Ya and Le Le in the Memphis Zoo are making contributions toward shifting production of biofuels away from corn and other food crops and toward corn cobs, stalks and other non-food plant material.

Scientists presented an update today on efforts to mine Ya Ya and Le Le's assets for substances that could do so during the 246th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS). And if things work out, giant pandas Er Shun and Da Mao in the Toronto Zoo will be joining the quest by making their own contributions.

"The giant pandas are contributing their feces," explained Ashli Brown, Ph.D., who heads the research. "We have discovered microbes in panda feces might actually be a solution to the search for sustainable new sources of energy. It's amazing that here we have an endangered species that's almost gone from the planet, yet there's still so much we have yet to learn from it. That underscores the importance of saving endangered and threatened animals."

Brown and her students, based at Mississippi State University, now have identified more than 40 microbes living in the guts of giant pandas at the Memphis Zoo that could make biofuel production from plant waste easier and cheaper. That research, Brown added, also may provide important new information for keeping giant pandas healthy.