Termite gut holds a secret to breaking down plant biomass

In Wisconsin, researchers in the Microbial Sciences Building at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are studying the incredibly efficient eating habits of a fungus-cultivating termite and how they break down the lignin polymer, which could hold keys for biofuel and paper industries where lignin is notoriously difficult to degrade and remains a costly obstacle.

When poplar wood undergoes a short, 3.5-hour transit through the gut of the termite, the emerging feces is almost devoid of lignin. The processes involved in the gut transit — or the mechanisms by which the termite gut succeeds in cleaving even the hardest-to-cleave portions of the lignin — are still unknown. Future research will focus on determining which enzymes or bacterial systems might be at work in the gut. If that super enzyme or process can be replicated outside of the termite, it could result in a dramatic improvement in the way we process wood and make biofuels, improving economics and cutting energy use.