486: Biohybrid Bacteria Build Biomass

This episode: Incorporating light-absorbing molecules into
bacterial membranes can allow bacteria to use solar energy to
transform nitrogen gas into fertilizer!


Download Episode (6.5 MB, 9.9 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Wheat dwarf virus


 


Takeaways


Turning nitrogen gas into biologically useful compounds, such as
protein or ammonia for fertilizer, is an essential part of the
global nitrogen cycle and therefore, for agriculture. Today much
fertilizer is produced from nitrogen gas by a chemical process
that requires large amounts of energy, contributing to global
warming. But certain bacteria can perform the same process using
special enzymes much more efficiently.

In this study, a light-absorbing molecule was inserted into the
cell membrane of some of these bacteria, allowing them to use
light energy directly to power the nitrogen converting enzymes.
These "biohybrids" were able to produce convert significantly
more nitrogen gas and produce additional bacterial biomass from
it, showing promise for using such an approach for more
sustainable microbial fertilizer production.


 


Journal Paper:
Chen Z, Quek G, Zhu J, Chan SJW, Cox‐Vázquez SJ, Lopez‐Garcia F,
Bazan GC. 2023. A Broad Light‐Harvesting Conjugated
Oligoelectrolyte Enables Photocatalytic Nitrogen Fixation in a
Bacterial Biohybrid. Angew Chem Int Ed 62:e202307101.


 


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