Development of sustainable energy systems based on renewable biomass feedstocks is now a global effort.
Lignocellulosic biomass contains polymers of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin, bound together in a complex structure.
Liquid biofuels, such as ethanol, can be made from biomass via fermentation of sugars derived from the cellulose and
hemicellulose within lignocellulosic materials, but pre-treatment of the biomass to release sugars for microbial conversion
is a significant barrier to commercial success of lignocellulosic biofuel production. Strategies to reduce the energy and
cost inputs required for biomass pre-treatment include genetic modification of plant materials to reduce lignin content.
Significant efforts are also underway to create recombinant microorganisms capable of converting sugars derived from
lignocellulosic biomass to a variety of biofuels. An alternative strategy to reduce the costs of cellulosic biofuel production
is the use of cellulolytic microorganisms capable of direct microbial conversion of ligno-cellulosic biomass to fuels. This
paper reviews recent patents on genetic modification of plants and microbes for biomass conversion to biofuels.
Biomass, Biofuels, Genetic modification, Lignocellulose, Patents, Plants, Pretreatment, Microorganisms, Hemicellulose, PRE-TREATED BIOMASS, cellulolytic enzymes, altered morphology, Genetic Engineering of Lignin, Flccellulase-transgenic plants, Zymomonas Species, recombinant hosts, quorum sensing, Gene knockout mesophilic, pentose sugars, CONSOLIDATED BIOPROCESSING
Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, E2-376 EITC, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 5V6.