There are three main polymers in straw and other dried plant material - cellulose, hemicellulose and
Researchers have studied the process by which woody insect microbes break down lignin in wheat straw, and figured out how they change this material.
Scientists added 500 intestines from eachfour higher species of termites for separation of anaerobic bioreactors, and then wheat straw as the sole carbon source. After 20 days, they compared the composition of the digested straw with the untreated straw. All gut microbiomes were found to degrade lignin (up to 37%), although they were more efficient at breaking down hemicellulose (51%) and cellulose (41%). The lignin remaining in the straw also changed - some of its subunits were oxidized.
The researchers suggested that effectivethe degradation of hemicelluloses by microbes could also increase the degradation of lignin crosslinked to polysaccharides. In future work, the scientists want to identify the microorganisms, enzymes and lignin degradation pathways responsible for these effects, which could be used in lignocellulose processing plants.
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