The evolution of conifer forests, and perhaps even squirrels, has been shaped by fungi. Photo: Andrzej Czerniewski
The genome of a dry rot fungus has revealed how it can cause severe damage to buildings. The findings could help in the development of biofuels and may explain how conifer forests evolved. In 2007 the US Department of Energy's Joint Genome Institute sequenced Serpula lacrymans in order to see if the way it breaks down cellulose in wood could be harnessed for biofuel production. An international team analysing the genome have found the enzyme mechanisms that could explain the aggressive decay caused by this form of dry rot. These may help develop new pretreaments for biofuel production from agricultural wastes. A report of the research is published in this week's Science. 'Alongside looking at the relevance for biofuels we also compared the genome of this fungus to the genomes of ten forest fungi.
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