<p>US researchers have found a way to make jet fuel from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil and rotting fruit.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The process could lead to economically viable production of aviation biofuels in the next five years, the researchers said.<br /><br />"It is very promising," said lead researcher Birgitte Ahring, professor at Washington State University, Tri-Cities Campus.<br /><br />"I think that the fungus-based fuels are something that is going to happen. It is a tremendous opportunity," she noted.<br /><br />The researchers used Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 to create hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum, similar to those in aviation fuels.<br /><br />The fungus produced the most hydrocarbons on a diet of oatmeal but also created them by eating wheat straw or the non-edible leftovers from corn production.<br /><br />Ahring's group has previously been successful in using standard Aspergillus fungi to produce enzymes and other useful products, so they decided to look into A.<br />carbonarius ITEM 5010's potential for biofuels.<br /><br />The researchers were assisted by Kenneth Bruno, a researcher at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who developed a method essential for the genetic manipulation of A. carbonarius.<br /><br />Ahring suspects the fungi produce hydrocarbons, large compounds that are costly for the organism to produce, as a protective mechanism.The research showed that fungi react to bacterial attacks by increasing their hydrocarbon production.<br /><br />The researchers are now working to optimise the fungi's hydrocarbon production and improve biochemical pathways through genetic engineering.<br /><br />They have obtained mutants with a higher production level and are working on improving these strains by using gene coding for specific hydrocarbons out of blue green bacteria and algae.<br /><br />The findings appeared in the journal Fungal Biology.</p>
<p>US researchers have found a way to make jet fuel from a common black fungus found in decaying leaves, soil and rotting fruit.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The process could lead to economically viable production of aviation biofuels in the next five years, the researchers said.<br /><br />"It is very promising," said lead researcher Birgitte Ahring, professor at Washington State University, Tri-Cities Campus.<br /><br />"I think that the fungus-based fuels are something that is going to happen. It is a tremendous opportunity," she noted.<br /><br />The researchers used Aspergillus carbonarius ITEM 5010 to create hydrocarbons, the chief component of petroleum, similar to those in aviation fuels.<br /><br />The fungus produced the most hydrocarbons on a diet of oatmeal but also created them by eating wheat straw or the non-edible leftovers from corn production.<br /><br />Ahring's group has previously been successful in using standard Aspergillus fungi to produce enzymes and other useful products, so they decided to look into A.<br />carbonarius ITEM 5010's potential for biofuels.<br /><br />The researchers were assisted by Kenneth Bruno, a researcher at the US Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, who developed a method essential for the genetic manipulation of A. carbonarius.<br /><br />Ahring suspects the fungi produce hydrocarbons, large compounds that are costly for the organism to produce, as a protective mechanism.The research showed that fungi react to bacterial attacks by increasing their hydrocarbon production.<br /><br />The researchers are now working to optimise the fungi's hydrocarbon production and improve biochemical pathways through genetic engineering.<br /><br />They have obtained mutants with a higher production level and are working on improving these strains by using gene coding for specific hydrocarbons out of blue green bacteria and algae.<br /><br />The findings appeared in the journal Fungal Biology.</p>