Researchers at Yale University and NOVA-FCT have discovered how soil bacteria "breathe" in an oxygen-free environment, using a family of proteins to transfer excess electrons to nanowires, creating a natural electrical grid underground. Such grids help sustain microbial life and influence environmental processes such as methane uptake, which is critical to controlling global warming.
Soil bacteria use proteins to power nanowires, creating an underground grid that supports life and affects methane emissions. To "breathe" in an oxygen-free environment, bacteria beneath our feet rely on a single family of proteins to transfer excess electrons generated during the "burning" of nutrients to nanowires called electric hairs that protrude from their surfaces, researchers at Yale University and the Nova Institute of Science and Technology of the Nova University in Lisbon (NOVA-FCT) have discovered.
This series of proteins essentially act like plugs, powering these nanowires, forming a natural electrical grid deep in the Earth that allows many types of microorganisms to survive and support life, said co-senior authors of the new study Nikhil Malvankar, associate professor in Yale's Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Institute of Microbial Sciences, and Carlos Salgueiro, a full professor at the Nova Research Center.
The components of this microbial grid have been studied extensively in the Marvankar and Salguero laboratories. However, it was unclear how bacteria transfer excess electrons generated by metabolic activity to nanowires that protrude from their surface and connect to minerals or neighbors. They found that many species of soil bacteria rely on a single, broad family of cytochromes in their bodies to charge the nanowires.
Understanding the details of this nanowire charging is important for developing the potential for new energy sources and new biomaterials, as well as their impact on the environment. Marwankar and Salguero pointed out that microorganisms absorb 80% of the methane in the ocean, and methane is emitted from the seafloor and is a major contributor to global warming. However, microorganisms on the Earth's surface account for 50% of the methane emitted into the atmosphere. Understanding different metabolic processes could help reduce methane emissions, they say.
The research was reported in the journal Nature Communications. The work was led by co-first authors Pilar Portela and Catharine Shipps, as well as Cong Shen and Vishok Srikanth.
Compiled from:ScitechDaily