Mapping of moose’s gut flora propels development of future biofuels

Through sequencing of ninety-nine moose stomach microbiomes, a study led by Anders Andersson (KTH/SciLifeLab) and Henrik Aspeborg (KTH) has provided new insights into microbial plant biomass degradation. The findings from the current project are highly relevant to the development of the second generation of biofuels.

Using enzyme technologies converting forestland material into e.g. ethanol would offer a more effective and economical option than today’s processing of starch and sugars from cultivated plants that in reality competes for the same land as food crops. The composition of the microbial flora in moose answers gives clues to how biorefinery techniques can be designed to enable utilization of fibrous material, which is normally more difficult to digest.

Read the news text from KTH (in Swedish) and the original paper in The ISME Journal.