Mycodiesel

Basics

• A number of fungi produce volatile organic compounds that have hydrocarbon-like properties. Gliocladium roseum, discovered in Patagonia, has been shown to produce many of the same hydrocarbons found in diesel fuel. Agricultural wastes can be used as substrates. Uses: green chemicals and/or fuels ("Mycodiesel").
• Can these be bioreactor grown?
  • If not how hard would it be to transfer these genes/pathways to algae/ecoli/yeast
• Need the biologists/biotech people to chime in
• MAY be what Proterro did?

External Links

• A "Plant Sciences" article on this
• A Paper in Current Opinion in Microbiology "The story of mycodiesel"
• A Guardian Article: "Tree fungus could provide green transport fuel"