Candace Williams, a Mississippi State University Ph.D. student in molecular biology, is researching how the feces of the giant panda can be used to produce biodiesel. She discovered microorganisms in the gut of the giant panda are capable of breaking down the sugar cellulose from woody materials into carbon compounds that can serve as an alternative fuel to petroleum oil.
Williams and her advisor Ashli Brown, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, developed this research project while Williams was working on her master’s degree at the time. She studied how feeding shifts in the giant panda affected the microorganisms in the bears’ gastrointestinal tracts.
For 14 months Williams collected samples of panda poop from the Memphis Zoo and returned them to MSU for analysis. The microorganisms were replicated in the lab using traditional biochemical methods to determine all the species present.
Williams said the use of microorganisms is a major advantage over current methods for producing biodiesel.
“The methods they use now are really expensive. They have to use energy because they use steam explosion, or they have to use really high heat for a catalyst to break down these materials. If you use microbes it would be relatively stable at lower temperatures and (the microorganisms) do all the work for you,” she said.
Darrell Sparks, assistant professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, said in an email he previously worked in the Renewable Fuels and Chemical Laboratory researching the use of microorganisms to generate biofuels.
“Although microorganisms can produce some very useful products, they have to have a source of carbon … One of the biggest issues with microorganism-based biofuels is finding a carbon source that is both abundant and inexpensive,” he said.
Sparkssaid researchers want to use materials such as trees, switchgrass and the giant pandas’ source of food — bamboo — as the carbon food source for microorganisms because these sources cost less energy to produce than grains such as corn. Lignocellulosic materials contain sugar in polymeric form which has to be broken down to simple sugars. The microbes in the giant panda produce enzymes, which can break down these woody materials very efficiently to produce simple sugars other microorganisms use to make oil for biodiesel. 
Sparks and Brown work with an oil-producing yeast that can produce up to 80 percent of its weight in oil. Brown said there might also be microbes in the giant panda that produce oils themselves so the yeast would not be needed.
“If you think about it we have a bear that really eats nothing but plant material, and digestively, there are not any adaptations for it, so it relies solely on its microbes (to produce) fatty acids that are being (used) for energy,” said Brown. “If we ate nothing but celery sticks we would not get a lot of nutritional value out of it, but somehow the panda has managed to survive.”
The response to Williams’ research so far has been very positive. She has received publicity, both good and bad, from news stations around the country and even on “The Late Night Show” with Jay Leno. She said once people understand what she is doing they do not find it so ridiculous. Brown said people are excited about the idea of using natural abundant materials for fuel.
“The take-home message is conservation. We can have our main message of nutrition and conservation and apply it to something else, and I think when you do that it gives it a much more global context,” said Brown. “I think it is that aspect that people have been most enthused with. It’s that bigger picture of conservation and thinking outside the box.”
Williams said the project is still in its early stages. The group is expecting to develop a usable platform in the near future.