Can fungi trim the gasoline habit?

Souped-up microscopic fungi could help cut the U.S. gasoline habit by converting a billion tons of agricultural waste into domestic fuel, while also slashing greenhouse gas emissions.
To make cellulosic ethanol, enzymes spewed from fungi convert cellulose from the fibrous parts of plants, such as stalks, into sugar that then is fermented. In traditional ethanol, yeast breaks down sugar from the starchy parts of plants, such as corn kernels.
Energy experts are cautiously optimistic. “The infrastructure is there or the technology to create it is there,” said Aaron Brady, an analyst at Cambridge Energy Research Associates in Massachusetts. “I don’t see any huge hurdle to getting this stuff to the pump,” he said.

Yahoo