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.....Schilling's Lab......Biodeterioration & Biodegradation
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Welcome to the Schilling Biodeterioration/Biodegradation Laboratory at the University of Minnesota in the Dept. of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. The lab is located in rooms 107 and 115 in the Kaufert Laboratory in Saint Paul on the Twin Cities campus. We maintain a culture collection of >100 microbes, primarily lignocellulose-degrading fungi. The lab is divided into a room for sterile culturing and molecular biology and a separate room for field isolations and material processing.
Lab phone - (612) 624-4274 .......................Office phone - (612) 624-1761
Research
Our research aims to couple fundamental research on lignocellulose biodegradation with the applications of these degradative systems (bottom Fig.).
Non-edible plant tissues like wood are comprised primarily of lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. The lignocellulose polymer matrix resists degradation by fungi, bacteria and other organisms, but it is not ‘immune’ to decay. Wood will rot. This fact drives our research to answer the following broad questions: 1) How do lignocellulose biodegradative organisms work? 2) How can we inhibit biodegradation to increase harvest yields and enhance wood durability? 3) How can we harness these unique organisms or their biological approach to convert lignocellulose to bio-based products? 4) What role do these decomposers play in native and managed ecosystems, and how will this knowledge influence conservation strategies?
In the lab, we use standard AWPA/ASTM soil-block assays to degrade wood blocks and novel materials, to rate preservative treatment efficacy, and to characterize fungal processes in situ. These soil-block trials are often complemented by nutrient-controlled agar-block microcosm tests and/or basal salts culturing. We utilize a combination of chemical analyses including HPLC and ICP-OES in artificial culture and in situ to monitor production and secretion of relevant metabolites as well as translocation of cations. We couple these data with image analyses including SEM-EDS and CLSM, and have begun using molecular techniques both diagnostically and as a gauge of community structure in competitive and/or cooperative multi-species trials. Our group also uses standardized DOE NREL protocols for feedstock characterization and enzymatic saccharification both as verification for novel pretreatments and as positive control when prospecting cellulase systems from successful degradative organisms in nature.
Please see projects & pubs for detail on funding sources and ongoing research, and please call the lab if you wish to ask about protocols. We are happy to share this information.
College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences |
