News Article - 21 August 2006
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An unexpected solution to lowering the world's carbon emissions measurement may have been discovered in the Patagonian rainforest.

A tree fungus, called Gliocladium roseum, is able to produce a range of hydrocarbons which are extremely close to the compounds found in fossil fuels.

It does this by feeding on plant cellulose and producing the fuel naturally, unlike biofuel production where the cellulose must be turned into sugar and then further treated to create ethanol.

Professor Gary Strobel, from Montana State University, discovered the phenomenon and labelled the fuel Mycodiesel.

"It's unusual in that it makes a whole mixture of hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives that are all flammable and explosive and have the potential to serve as a green source of energy for humankind," he said.

Biofuels have been touted as a way of accounting for carbon emissions but have been criticised by some, who say that the cultivation of crops needed to produce them leads to deforestation - something that would not be a problem when using the fungus.

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