Lignocellulose-Degrading Microbial Communities in Landfill Sites Represent a Repository of Unexplored Biomass-Degrading Diversity.

ABSTRACT: The microbial conversion of lignocellulosic biomass for biofuel production represents a renewable alternative to fossil fuels. However, the discovery of new microbial enzymes with high activity is critical for improving biomass conversion processes. While attempts to identify superior lignocellulose-degrading enzymes have focused predominantly on the animal gut, biomass-degrading communities in landfill sites represent an unexplored resource of hydrolytic enzymes for biomass conversion. Here, to address the paucity of information on biomass-degrading microbial diversity beyond the gastrointestinal tract, cellulose (cotton) "baits" were incubated in landfill leachate microcosms to enrich the landfill cellulolytic microbial community for taxonomic and functional characterization. Metagenome

SUBMITTER: Ransom-Jones E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5541161 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature