Insects and Biofuels

Researchers are studying the interactions of insects, plants, fungi & microbes for clues to maximizing the production and efficiency of biofuels...

• Special issue of Insect Science (June 2010): "Exploring and integrating cellulolytic systems of insects to advance biofuel technology"

• UW Libraries Research Guide - Bioenergy: Plants and Microbes

• Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center

More resources:

• Journal of Economic Entomology

• Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

• Journal of Insect Physiology

• Biotechnology for Biofuels

• Biomass & Bioenergy

• Bioresource Technology

• Bioenergy Research

• Global Change Biology Bioenergy

Ant symbiosis and Biofuels

[Photo: B W Hoffman]

UW-Madison Communications recently covered a project of the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center to sequence the genome of ants that break down and digest cellulose, along with their associated fungi and bacteria ("Sequencing effort to chart ants and their ecosystem").

Recent publications by this project's researchers include:

Adams, A.S., Currie, C.R., Cardozea, Y.J., Klepzig, K.D., & Raffa, K. 2009. Effects of symbiotic bacteria and tree chemistry on the growth and reproduction of bark beetle fungal symbionts. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 39(6): 1133–1147.

Caldera, E.J., Poulsen, M., Suen, G., & Currie, C.R. 2009. Insect symbioses: a case study of past, present, and future fungus-growing ant research. Environmental Entomology 38: 78-92.

Ivens, A.B.F.; Nash, D.R.; Poulsen, M.; Boomsma, J.J. 2009. Caste-specific symbiont policing by workers of Acromyrmex fungus-growing ants. Behavioral Ecology 20:2, 378-384.

Little, A.E.F & Currie, C.R. 2008. Black yeast symbionts compromise the efficiency of antibiotic defenses in fungus-growing ants. Ecology 89: 1216-1222.

Oh, D.C, Scott, J.J., Currie, C.R., & Clardy, J. 2009. Mycangimycin: a polyene peroxide from a symbiotic Streptomyces sp. Organic Letters 11: 633-636.

Oh, D.C., Poulsen, M., Currie, C.R., & Clardy, J. 2009. Dentigerumycin: the bacterially produced molecular mediator of a fungus-growing ant symbiosis. Nature Chemical Biology 5: 391-393.

Oh, D.C., Scott, J.J., Poulsen, M.Z., Currie, C.R., & Clardy, J. 2008. Discovery of new secondary metabolites mediating insect-microorganism symbioses. Planta Medica 74(9): 906.

Poulsen, M., Fernandez-Marin, H., Wcislo, W.T., Currie, C.R., & Boomsma, J.J. (in press). Ephemeral windows of opportunity maintain horizontal transmission of fungal symbionts in leaf-cutting ants. Evolution.

Poulsen, M. & Currie, C.R. 2009. On ants, plants and fungi. New Phytologist 182(4): 785-788.

Scott, J.J., Oh, D.C., Yuceer, M.C., Klepzig, K.D., Clardy, J., et al. 2008. Bacterial protection of beetle-fungus mutualism. Science 322: 63.

Sustainable Energy & Development e-books

UW-Madison Libraries have added access to the "Sustainable Energy & Development" collection of e-books through our Knovel subscription. Titles of interest include:

• Biofuels Refining and Performance (2008)
  
• Biodiesel Handbook (2005)
• Biomass Assessment Handbook - Bioenergy for a Sustainable Environment (2007)
• Biomass for Renewable Energy, Fuels, and Chemicals (1998)
• Bioprocessing for Value-Added Products from Renewable Resources - New Technologies and Applications (2007)
• Biotechnology for Fuels and Chemicals - The Twenty-Eighth Symposium (2007)
• Dictionary of Energy (2006)
• Encyclopedia of Energy, Volumes 1 - 6 (2004)
• Energy Harvesting Materials (2005)
• Environmentally Conscious Alternative Energy Production (2007)
• Food System - A Guide (2009)
• Future Energy - Improved, Sustainable and Clean Options for Our Planet (2008)
• Handbook of Organic Food Processing and Production (2nd Edition) (2000)
• Monitoring and Predicting Agricultural Drought - A Global Study (2005)
• Pesticide Detox - Towards a More Sustainable Agriculture (2005)
• Pesticide Residues in Food and Drinking Water - Human Exposure and Risks (2004)
• Pesticide, Veterinary and other Residues in Food (2004)
• Renewable Bioenergy - Technologies, Risks, and Rewards (2003)
• Renewables-Based Technology - Sustainability Assessment (2007)
• Sustainability and Environmental Impact of Renewable Energy Sources (2003)
• Sustainability in Agriculture (2005)
• Tropical Soils - Properties and Management for Sustainable Agriculture (2003)
• Water Encyclopedia, Volumes 1-5 (2005)