Lignocellulosic Biotechnology and Related Research

A collection on various topics with implications on new or possible advances with ligno-cellulose research in regards to animal feeding and also lending itself to bioenergy feedstock. It is an informative discussion for the research scientist, and in particular, the specialist in ruminant nutrition covering topics as enzyme technology, applied to crop post-harvest technology, with novel microbial anaerobic lignases, aerobic lignases and other extracellular fibrolytic enzymes (EFEs), boosting water-soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content in new tropical forage-type feeds, action of proteases in plant feed material and digestion, lowering lignin content and use of lacasse for bio-bleaching lignocellulose. Feed resources are discussed in particular for the tropics, including sugarcane and use of bagasse and tops, grasses and legumes, with resources for food and feed farming systems and legume browse trees and shrubs for feed. New probiotics for feed treatment and microbial probiotics using small molecular gene silencing fine biochemicals are featured that would result in better ensilage and ruminal fermentation as a whole. Issues with various pre-treatments and crop improvements and the resulting digestive process with biotechnology are discussed. The author has had a general background in animal nutrition, specifically, with ruminant livestock and which started by coursework and research on the subject of this book at the University of New South Wales, Sydney and was awarded an Overseas Postgraduate Research Scholarship (OPRS) for 3-yrs tenure at the University of New England, Armidale NSW Australia for internal/external study from 1992-1995. The author has in the past published on ensilage, protein digestion and intake, rec-DNA applications to low-quality feeds utilization and the improvement of temperate and tropical ensilage rumen digestion with biotechnology. He currently is a web-based Internet researcher and continues to research and publish, amongst others, in his area of low-quality feeds utilization and animal production and resides in the municipality of Port Coquitlam, Tri-Cities area of British Columbia Canada.