Shipworm <i>Bankia setacea</i> (IMAGE)

DOE/Joint Genome Institute

Shipworm <i>Bankia setacea</i>

Caption

Shipworms are worm-like, wood-eating marine clams that have damaged sea-going vessels and piers for millenia. In collaboration with a team led by Daniel Distel of the Ocean Genome Legacy Center of New England Biolabs at Northeastern University, US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute (DOE JGI) researchers sequenced and analyzed the shipworm Bankia setacea to learn more about how it breaks down and digests wood. This information could prove useful for the industrial production of advanced biofuels from woody plant mass.

Credit

Dan Distel, Ocean Genome Legacy Center of New England Biolabs

Usage Restrictions

None

License

Licensed content

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.