Anaerobic Fungi and Their Potential for Biogas Production

Abstract

Plant biomass is the largest reservoir of environmentally friendly renewable energy on earth. However, the complex and recalcitrant structure of these lignocellulose-rich substrates is a severe limitation for biogas production. Microbial pro-ventricular anaerobic digestion of ruminants can serve as a model for improvement of converting lignocellulosic biomass into energy. Anaerobic fungi are key players in the digestive system of various animals, they produce a plethora of plant carbohydrate hydrolysing enzymes. Combined with the invasive growth of their rhizoid system their contribution to cell wall polysaccharide decomposition may greatly exceed that of bacteria. The cellulolytic arsenal of anaerobic fungi consists of both secreted enzymes, as well as extracellular multi-enzyme complexes called cellulosomes. These complexes are extremely active, can degrade both amorphous and crystalline cellulose and are probably the main reason of cellulolytic efficiency of anaerobic fungi. The synergistic use of mechanical and enzymatic degradation makes anaerobic fungi promising candidates to improve biogas production from recalcitrant biomass. This chapter presents an overview about their biology and their potential for implementation in the biogas process.

Community structure and fibrolytic activities of anaerobic rumen fungi in dromedary camels

“…This could explain that the higher cellulase production in R2 could be a result of the higher fungal population in the rumen of animal fed on lignified forage (wheat straw) and the higher number of Cyllamyces and Neocallimastix plus the presence of Piromyces .This speculation in agreement with Gordon and Phillips , who indicated that the most rapid degradation of fibrous plant tissues was observed using Piromyces strains together with Neocallimastix and Orpinomyces .Furthermore, administration of Orpinomyces and Piromyces to lactating buffalo enhanced the digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and increased milk yield and milk fate yield . Lignin‐embedded cellulose and hemicellulose represent a physical barrier against microbial and enzymatic attack . Rumen anaerobic fungi have the ability to degrade and separate the plant cell wall through rhizoidal growth and producing lignocellulosic enzymes cocktail .…”

Productivity Enhancement Using Kinetic Modeling of Bio-digestion Process-A Review

“…Veronika Dollhofer, Sabine Marie Podmirseg, Tony Martin Callaghan, Gareth Wyn Griffith and Kateřina Fliegerová et al [9] Anaerobic Fungi and Their…”

The Enigmatic Universe of the Herbivore Gut

“…The synergistic relation between anaerobic fungi and archaea in the gut of herbivores enables the reproduction of these microorganisms and also provides simple carbon and nitrogen compounds that are absorbed by the host [3]. Although anaerobic fungi comprise only a fraction of the gut microbiome in herbivores ( 8%), they are believed to be important players in the deconstruction of plant biomass, through a combination of enzymatic deconstruction and physical disruption via invasive growth of the rhizoids [2] (Figure 1).…”

“…In anaerobic fungi, cellulases, hemicellulases, and CBMs can be complexed to dockerin proteins. A scaffolding protein has not been conclusively identified in anaerobic fungi; neither it is known how they may be associated with the fungal cell wall [3,5]. Micrograph of typical growth habit of anaerobic fungi, including rhizoids.…”