Biologists and engineers worked together to modify a microbe, Rhodopseudomonas palustris TIE-1, to produce biofuel using carbon dioxide, solar panel-generated electricity and light. R. palustris is a bacterium found in all sorts of environments and notable for its ability to change between four different metabolic modes, giving it potentially useful biotechnology applications. In particular, R. palustris TIE-1 has been shown to obtain energy through extracellular electron transfer.
Previous work from Professor Arpita Bose’s laboratory at Washington University revealed how they use electrons to 'fix' CO2 and could be used to create sustainable bioplastics. In the latest project from the Bose lab, researchers have used R. palustris TIE-1 to create a biofuel, n-butanol. This is a carbon-neutral fuel alternative that can be blended with diesel or petrol.
“Microorganisms have evolved a bewildering array of techniques to obtain nutrients from their...