Group Contacts
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Scientists in B-8 Develop Strategies for Bioenergy, Bioremediation and Climate Change ResearchAs part of the Bioscience mission to address issues in environmental stewardship, this group focuses on discovering the molecular principles that underpin biological diversity, specificity, response and function. This is achieved through research in environmental microbiology, microbial genomics, metabolomics, systematics and phylogeny and can be applied to the advancement of bioenergy technologies and bioremediation as well as to our understanding of carbon cycling. What's New?Unraveling Lignocellulosic Biomass to Produce Biofuels
Anthrax bacteria’s biosynthesis has potential for the development of therapeutic treatmentsDavid Fox, Andrew Koppisch (both in B-8) and their collaborators at the National University in Singapore have made the first report and characterization of a new class of enzyme, dehydroshikimate dehydratase (Class II DHSase). Anthrax bacteria synthesize DHSase as part of the vital biosynthetic pathway to the siderophore petrobactin. This enzyme, AsbF, was the final enzyme that had not been characterized in the petrobactin biosynthetic pathway . Based on this and previous studies, the team now has the ability to directly target petrobactin biosynthetic enzymes for discovery of novel therapeutics as well understanding iron-acquisition in Bacillus bacteria. Read More... |
B-8 Teams
Focus on ResearchLinks / Resources
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Lignocellulosic biomass is inedible fibrous material derived from plant cell walls. Its main cellulose component is an abundant potential source of natural sugars that could be used for producing biofuels, such as ethanol and butanol. However, energy-efficient and cost-effective processes for breaking up the plant cell wall and releasing these sugars are needed. To address this problem, LANL scientists focused on understanding the interactions between atoms that hold cellulose together.