One day, we may fill the tank with fungi fuel -- Science Nation

 

                                                 

Over his 50-year career, Montana State University plant pathologist Gary Strobel has traveled to all seven continents to collect samples of endophytes from remote and sometimes dangerous places. Endophytes are microorganisms--bacteria and fungi--that live within the living tissue of a plant. With support from NSF, Strobel, engineer Brent Peyton and their team at Montana State University have discovered that endophytes have the ability to make diesel-like fuel. One hydrocarbon-producing fungus comes from the Ulmo tree of Patagonia. Another is a citrus fungus from Florida. And, amazingly, it takes the team just a few weeks to create the fuel.

Original air date: Sept. 23, 2013. Credit: National Science Foundation