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New fungus biofuel discovered  A unique fungus that makes diesel compounds has been discovered living in trees in the rainforest, according to a paper published in a leading journal.
The fungus, which is known as Gliocladium roseum and lives inside the Ulmo tree in the Patagonian rainforest, is potentially a totally new source of green energy and scientists are now working to develop its fuel-producing potential, the paper in Microbiology claims.
"This is the only organism that has ever been shown to produce such an important combination of fuel substances," said Professor Gary Strobel from Montana State university.
"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."
Professor Gary Strobel suggested that it may be a better biofuel than anything currently being developed because of its increased simplicity of production.
"When crops are used to make biofuel they have to be processed before they can be turned into useful compounds by microbes," Professor Strobel continued.
"G. roseum can make myco-diesel directly from cellulose, the main compound found in plants and paper.
This means if the fungus was used to make fuel, a step in the production process could be skipped."
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