E-coli Bacteria’s Shocking Transformation: Scientists Harness Electricity Generation from Deadly Microbes
In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL) have successfully harnessed electricity from the notorious E-coli bacteria. This pioneering achievement opens the door to a promising avenue for extracting value from wastewater.
Bioelectronic experts from EPFL applied the principles of extracellular electron transfer to engineer E-coli bacteria into highly efficient electric microbes. The results were astounding, with a three-fold increase in electrical current generation compared to conventional methods.
Professor Ardemis Boghossian, from the Swiss university, explains the significance of their work, stating, “Instead of expending energy to process organic waste, we are now producing electricity simultaneously while treating organic waste, accomplishing two critical tasks at once.”
Published in the journal Joule, their study documents the creation of a complete extracellular electron transfer (EET) pathway within E. coli, a feat previously deemed unattainable.
Prof. Boghossian elaborates on their achievement, saying, “We engineered E. coli bacteria, one of the most extensively studied microbes, to generate electricity. While there are exotic microbes naturally capable of electricity production, they rely on specific chemicals for this process. E. coli, on the other hand, can thrive on a wide range of sources, enabling electricity generation in diverse environments, including wastewater.”
Unlike earlier methods, these bioengineered E. coli microbes can produce electricity while metabolizing various organic substrates.
By incorporating components from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, a well-known electricity-generating bacterium, the researchers constructed a pathway spanning both the inner and outer membranes of the cell.
To test the viability of their engineered E. coli, they introduced it to brewery wastewater. In contrast to similar electric microbes, these adapted bacteria thrived in the challenging environment, indicating their potential for large-scale waste treatment and energy production.
Professor Boghossian shares the results, stating, “We directly tested our technology on wastewater collected from Les Brasseurs, a local brewery in Lausanne. The exotic electric microbes couldn’t even survive, whereas our bioengineered electric bacteria flourished exponentially by utilizing this waste.”
The implications of this study extend far beyond wastewater treatment. The researchers envision applications in microbial fuel cells, electrosynthesis, and bio-sensing.
The genetic adaptability of this bacterium allows it to be customized for specific environments and feedstocks, making it a versatile tool for sustainable technology development.
Lead author and doctoral assistant, Mohammed Mouhib, remarks, “Our work comes at an opportune moment, as engineered bioelectric microbes are rapidly advancing in real-world applications. We’ve set a new record compared to the previous state-of-the-art, which relied on a partial pathway, and compared to the microbe featured in one of the recent seminal papers in the field. With ongoing research efforts, we’re excited about the future of bioelectric bacteria and eager to witness the technology’s expansion into new frontiers.”