UK team finds key enzyme in breaking down plant cell walls

In England, University of York researchers, working with other researchers in the U.S. and Europe have a identified the molecular mechanism behind an enzyme found in fungi which can degrade the cellulose chains of plant cell walls to release shorter sugars for biofuels.  They found a way of initiating effective oxidative degeneration of cellulose using the copper-dependent TaGH61 enzyme, removing a major constraint on the production of bioethanol from cellulose.