Researchers looking for better ways to make biofuels turned to experts at breaking down grass — cattle — and found more than a dozen new compounds in their guts that might help make new, cheap sources of energy.
They used new genetic sequencing techniques to find microbes that make enzymes that in turn can break down tough grasses into usable products.
Writing in the journal Science on Thursday, they said they took samples directly from the rumen — the organ in cattle that ferments and breaks down grass.
“Industry is seeking better ways to break down biomass to use as the starting material for a new generation of renewable biofuels,” said Eddy Rubin of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Joint Genome Institute in California, which led the study.
“Together with our collaborators, we are examining the molecular machinery used by microbes in the cow to break down plant material.”
