Bacteria in the human gut can produce electricity

Why can many types of bacteria produce electricity?

Researchers now found out that the bacteria in our stomach have an interesting property. These and many other types of bacteria are capable of producing electricity. Could this be used in the future for the production of live batteries?

The University of California, Berkeley scientists found in their current research that many types of bacteria can produce electricity. The physicians published the results of their study in the English-language journal "Nature".

Power generation in the future by bacteria?

Listeria, which can contaminate food and cause listeriosis, are able to produce energy under certain environmental conditions (eg, lack of oxygen). When these bacteria grow in a bottle with inserted electrodes, they produce a measurable electrical current, the experts explain. Scientists are now looking for ways to optimize this capability and, for example, to use it for power generation in waste treatment plants.

Which types of bacteria can generate electricity?

It used to be thought that the only so-called electrogenic bacterial species live in harsh, mineral-rich environments such as mines and the bed of rivers or bodies of water. However, the researchers found various examples of Clostridium bacteria and infectious strains from hospitals, which can also produce electricity. They also found this property in various types of beneficial bacteria, such as the lactobacilli contained in probiotic drinks for health benefits, and also used in yoghurt and cheese production.

Electricity producing bacteria were not considered for a long time

The fact that so many types of human-related bacteria, either as pathogens, in probiotics, in our microbiota or as an assistant in the fermentation of human products capable of producing electricity, has become too long overlooked or not paid enough attention, explains study author Professor Dan Portnoy of the University of California, Berkeley in a press release.

Bacteria produce electricity as part of their metabolism

The recognition that bacteria produce electricity may help to understand how these bacteria infect us or contribute to improved gut health. Bacteria produce electricity as part of their metabolism. In humans, our cells use the oxygen we breathe to control the transfer of energy-carrying electrons, which are trapped as sugars and other molecules in our food and provide energy to every cell, the scientists explain. Single-celled bacteria that live in low-oxygen environments do not have this option. You must therefore use different chemical elements to promote this flow of electrons.

In the case of electrogenic bacteria found in acidic waters or mines, they use minerals such as iron or manganese. Since these minerals are outside the cell, the electrons must go through several steps to reach them. They use the internal current, which conducts electrons like a copper wire. In intestinal bacteria, electrons usually have access to a very potent electron acceptor (flavin) once they are out of oxygen. This molecule consists of vitamin B12, which is essential for the action of all human cells and therefore abundant in the human body.

How much electricity do intestinal bacteria produce??

The researchers found that intestinal bacteria produce as much electricity (about 500 microamps) as those bacteria that, despite a simplified method of exchange with minerals. It seems that the cell structure of these bacteria and the ecological niche they occupy makes it much easier and "less expensive" to remove electrons from the cell, say the authors. (As)