431: Conductive Cables Control Carbon

This episode: Cable bacteria around rice roots transport
electrons and help prevent formation of methane!


 


Thanks to Vincent Scholz for his contribution!


Download Episode (5.7 MB, 8.3 minutes)

Show notes:
Microbe of the episode: Vibrio alginolyticus


 


News item


Takeaways


Transforming other things into methane is a great way to
make a living for some kinds of microbes. These tend to
live under still water, like in rice fields or wetlands, or
in the guts of cattle. And while this methane could be
useful as natural gas if collected, it's a much more potent
greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide when released into the
atmosphere.


 


In this study, cable bacteria were inoculated into rice
pots in the lab. Cable bacteria transfer electrons from
deeper down in the ground up to the surface to generate
energy, and in the process generate sulfate. This sulfate
allows other microbes to outcompete the methane producers,
reducing the amount of methane produced from rice
cultivation in the lab. This may be helpful to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from rice agriculture.


Journal Paper:
Scholz VV, Meckenstock RU, Nielsen LP, Risgaard-Petersen N.
2020. Cable bacteria reduce methane emissions from
rice-vegetated soils. 1. Nat Commun 11:1878.



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com. Thanks for listening!


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