Lars Ljungdahl

Lars Gerhard Ljungdahl (1926-2023) was a Swedish biochemist, famous for his part in the discovery of the major carbon fixation in the form of the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway as well as lignocellulose degradation by bacteria and fungi.

In continuation of research that Ljungdahl began at the Stockholm Brewing Company looking at the enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose for the production of fermented sugars. and bacteria within the rumen of herbivorous mammals. This cellulose degration process has many future biotechnological potentials as feedstock chemicals and biofuels. studying amino acid metabolism. In 1998, he married his second wife Despy Karlas During his tenure at UGA, he was named the Georgia Power Distinguished Professor in Biotechnology and held the title until he retired.

Due to his work on the acetyl-CoA pathway, a bacterium at the center of the pathway was named in his honor: Clostridium ljungdahlii.