Gliocladium roseum (also known as Clonostachys rosea) is a fungus found in the branches of ulma trees growing in Chile in South America. The fungus has previously garnered interest as a possible biocontrol agent against the blight fungus Botrytis cinerea. Although the species is not new to science, Dr. Gary Strobel of Montana State University (MSU) has discovered an atypical strain that produces short-chain hydrocarbons when cultured under low-oxygen conditions.
A number of microbes are known to produce long-chain hydrocarbons, but it is the smaller hydrocarbons (such as heptane and octane) that are useful as fuels. Another plus for Gliocladium is that it is able to digest the ubiquitous plant carbohydrate cellulose, an abundant and renewable source of carbon. Could this be the biofuel of the future?
Advantages of Myco-Diesel
Most of the attention on alternatives to petroleum products has focused on biodiesel; a fuel produced mostly from plant sources such as soybean, sunflower or canola oils (as well as recycled cooking oils and fats). Some people claim biodiesel can make a major contribution to easing the world’s dependence on oil, while others say that it increases food prices by steering farming efforts away from food production.
Myco-diesel, if it works out, could provide a viable fuel without diverting agricultural resources. Myco-diesel would also be free of sulfur and other undesirable substances that are often found in petroleum-derived diesel fuels.
More Research is Needed
Myco-diesel is not yet ready for prime time. The hydrocarbons produced in the lab are in a gaseous state and rather dilute. Significant investments in process engineering and technology development are needed to find a cost-effective way to maximize the usable compounds generated by the fungus and then condense them into a liquid that can be burned as fuel.
Strobel and his collaborators are studying the G. roseum genome to identify the enzyme genes responsible for its hydrocarbon metabolism. If the important genes can be found, it may be possible to selectively alter them or transfer them to other organisms, to increase the amount of myco-diesel produced.
What's the Potential for a Fungal Fuel?
Montana State University has been granted a provisional patent on this strain of G. roseum. "We want to get a little further along on research before we market it for licensing," says Nick Zelver, Associate Director of the MSU Technology Transfer Office.
In November of 2008, Dr. Strobel went to southern Argentina on another bioprospecting expedition. He is working his way northward from the Ushuaia region in search of new specimens to test for potentially useful compounds.
References
2008, Strobel, G., Knighton, B., Kluck, K., Ren, Y., Livinghouse, T., Griffin, M., Spakowicz, D., and Sears, J., The Production of Myco-diesel Hydrocarbons and their Derivatives by the Endophytic Fungus Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072). Microbiology (154), 3319-3328.
2008, Boswell, E., MSU-Led Team Finds New Type of Fuel in Patagonia Fungus, MSU News Service, http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=6417 (accessed 12/01/08).
2008, Chadwick, A., Scientist Discovers Fungus That Could Fuel a Car, NPR, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96574076, (accessed 12/01/08).
Philip McIntosh - The author holds a B.Sc. in Botany and Chemistry and an M.A in Biology and he has thirty + years of experience in science and industry.
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