AN annoying marine pest may not be such a nuisance after all – and could play a key role in solving the energy problem.

The 'gribble' is a tiny crustacean much-hated by the seafarers of old for eating into the timber hulls of ships.

Even now they continue to be a problem in coastal communities for the damage they wreak on wooden piers and docks.

But boffins have discovered the gribble’s destructive power could be the key to turning waste like paper, scrap wood and straw, into liquid fuel.

Scientists led by Professors Simon McQueen-Mason and Neil Bruce at the University of York, have determined the structure and function of a key enzyme used by gribbles to digest wood.

And that in turn will help the researchers reproduce its effects on an industrial scale in their bid to create sustainable liquid biofuels.

“We have found a number of unusual features that could be of benefit to the biofuels industry,” said Prof McQueen-Mason, of the university’s Centre for Novel Agricultural Products.

The ultimate aim is to reproduce the effect of the enzyme on an industrial scale.

The team has transferred the genetic blueprint of the enzyme to an industrial microbe that can produce it in large quantities - in the same way enzymes for biological washing detergents are made.

Prof Bruce said: “The robust nature of the enzymes makes it compatible for use in conjunction with sea water, which would lower the costs of processing.

“Lowering the cost of enzymes is seen as critical for making biofuels from woody materials cost effective.

“Its robustness would also give the enzymes a longer working life.”