PNNL

Scientists at EMSL and their colleagues from several institutions have learned more about how molds become cellular factories that can synthesize a range of diverse products, including precursors to alternative fuels. The researchers found that a cellular compartment called the endoplasmic reticulum plays a key role, acting as a central staging area to gather raw materials as well as an assembly line coordinating multiple steps of biosynthesis. The findings — made at the Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, a Department of Energy User Facility on the campus of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — have implications for energy production, agriculture and human health.

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