1994/01/01 by John A. Breznak, Andreas Brune · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Chemistry · #Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Plant and animal studies #Biology #Microorganism #Digestion (alchemy) #Reticulitermes #Ecology #Bacteria #Rhinotermitidae #Chemistry #Chromatography
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev.en.39.010194.002321
openalex publication_date 1994/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/15
Photosynthetic fixation of carbon dioxide in our biosphere yields approxi mately 136 X lOIS g of dry plant material annually, which represents Earth's most abundant form of biomass (88). Two major constituents of such biomass are cellulose and lignin, and hence this material is often referred to as . lignocellulosic biomass, or simply lignocellulose. Most of the synthesis (about 2/3) occurs in terrestrial ecosystems where it is balanced, or nearly so, by the decomposition/respiration side of the carbon cycle (63). Decom position of lignocellulose is carr ied out primarily by microorganisms, chiefly fungi and bacteria. However, augmenting the activities of microbes is an arr ay of soil macro-invertebrates, whose effects may range from simple comminution and dispersion of plant material to actual dissimilation of the structural polymers of lignocellulose (86, 90, 91). Among the most abundant and important of these invertebrates ' are termites, which, with their associated microbial symbionts, dissimilate a significant proportion of the cellulose