Biomimics of the Insect Gut for Advanced Design of Lignocellulosic Biorefinery
摘要
Insects, one of the invertebrates, are well-known for their ability to pollinate plants; act as soil engineers, thereby aerating the soil; have symbiosis; or have a mutualistic effect with beneficial microbes and aid as pathogens for several diseases. Considering their ubiquitous nature in the ecosystem, their structural and functional ecological features, and their role with beneficial microbes, insects such as soil engineers and wood-feeding-like collaborators help break down rich lignocellulose biomass uniquely in their gut pathways. Studies have shown that the microbes in the gut system of insects can serve as a perfect model when utilized in the degradation of lignocellulose materials to produce biofuels using strategic biorefinery methods. This is a biomimicry or biomimetic way of helping humans solve the issues of climate change using a green biotechnological model. Because of the incidence of fossil fuel deterioration and depletion of the natural ecosystem, the need to use alternative green technology is not negotiable. Hence, this chapter assesses the biomimics of the insect gut for the advanced design of lignocellulosic biorefinery. The ecology of the gut microbiome in insects and their role in the valorization of lignocellulose for biorefinery are discussed. The interplay between the insects and their gut microbes is also discussed. How gut microorganisms in insects break down lignocellulose and their mechanism of action serving as a potential biomimetic model for future biorefinery is highlighted. The application of microbes found in the gut of insects for biofuel production and the possible economic cost are highlighted. The environmental factors affecting the efficiencies of gut microbiomes in their utilization as tools for biorefinery are discussed.