Gliocladium roseum is a microbe that “breathes diesel fuel” and could help us produce the next generation of biofuels. This reddish colored fungus was found on the inside of a tree, somewhere in the northern Patagonian rainforests. The exact location is being kept secret to prevent a gold rush scenario.?

According to one of Gary Strobel, a biology professor at Montana State University:

This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances. The fungus can even make these diesel compounds from cellulose, which would make it a better source of biofuel than anything we use at the moment

Strobel’s team was surprised to note that the composition of the gases emitted by G. roseum included an array of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives, at least eight of which are the most important constituents of diesel.

“Myco-diesel,” could be grown like yeast, with the gases extracted and liquefied to create fuel. Alternatively, the enzymes from the fungus could be harvested and used to break down cellulose directly in order to create biodiesel.

In Strobel’s own words:

G. roseum can make myco-diesel directly from cellulose, the main compound found in plants and paper. This means that if the fungus was used to make fuel, a step in the production process could be skipped.

Another alternative, says Strobel, would be to strip out the enzyme-making genes from the fungus and use this to break down the cellulose to make biodiesel. [Microbiology via ABC Science]