Seek Function in Genomic Dark Matter, and Ye Shall Find

The Department of Energy is very interested in finding new sources of fuel. Thinking that bacteria in cow's stomachs probably know some secrets to extracting energy from plant mass, they sent some biologists from Washington and California on a quest: look into the unknown genes of those microbes, and find ones that know how to break down cellulose.

The biologists went to work, focusing on the genes with unknown functions. Their paper in Biotechnology & Bioengineering describes their strategy...