Breakthrough in cell walls helps making bio-fuel more efficient

Cole Winsor
10/20/13

Author: Celia Luterbacher
published: 8/15/13
http://www.news.wisc.edu/22033

Summary
Scientist have recently discovered a new gene in plants that may make the creation of bio-fuel from foods more efficient. Lignin is a compound in the cell walls of plants that give their tissue structure and sturdiness, however it also limits the use of plants as a bio-fuel because in order to gain access to the energy of the plants you must first break down lignin which often requires both heat and harsh chemicals. Researcher from the Department of Energy have recently identified a new gene responsible for producing a newly found enzyme, called caffeoyl shikimate esterase, which creates lignin.  these discoveries have helped the world better understand how lignin is produced and is the first discovery in ten years that has helped scientist understand how lignin is produced in plants. When Ghent University in Belgium grew Arabidopsis plants with the gene responsible knocked out the amount of lignin in the plants stems was reduced by 36 percent. By lowering the lignin in plants the process of making bio-fuel could become faster and cheaper for industry, making it a much more viable source of fuel in the future.

Connection
this article relates to much of what we are learning about enzymes. This shows how important enzymes are in cells and how little we know about how much of the cell functions. It connects to what we have learned about synthesis reactions caused by enzymes create things such as the lignin in cell walls, and how without these enzymes to help with these reactions it would be much harder for them to occur