Germs and a Gas- One Way to Slow Down Global Warming?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is one gas that you've probably heard of. We breathe it out after we breathe in oxygen. Plants- even marine plants like phytoplankton and seaweed- "breathe" it in and create oxygen for us! Too much CO2 is not good for the environment: as it traps heat from the Sun, it contributes to global warming. Concerningly, scientists have determined that CO2 in the atmosphere has almost doubled since the late 1700s - early 1800s. That time period marks the Industrial Revolution - when more deforestation started occurring and more fossil fuels started being used.
You've likely heard of the bacteria species Escherichia coli (E. coli) as well. While this species is notorious for outbreaks of food poisoning, maybe it doesn't deserve such a bad rep? A few strains of the species are dangerous, but E. coli is also found throughout the environment, and in our intestines (and intestines of some animals). Some E. coli strains make Vitamin K (helps with blood clotting) and Vitamin B12 (benefits blood and nerve cells). These are all very important aspects of our health.
You might be wondering, what do a gas and a bunch of germs have to do with one another? Well... here are some hints. Bacteria need to "eat" or break down carbon-containing compounds as an energy source. Bacteria are pretty hungry critters and can be persuaded to eat different things, even things that aren't so great for us. There is a lot of CO2 in the environment. Also, as E. coli bacteria reproduce really quickly, it's easier to grow a lot of them and change their eating preferences over time. You got it, some E. coli are able to break down CO2!
A team of researchers in Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel were able to persuade E. coli to eat CO2. How did they achieve this innovative endeavor? First, they gave their E. coli some new genes to help them metabolize CO2. Next, they put the E. coli into a chemostat (controlled environment to grow bacteria), and fed them with mainly CO2, and just a little bit of sugar. As the E. coli kept reproducing and evolving, they evolved to use CO2. So how could the scientists check that their bacteria were truly eating the CO2? They labeled the carbon in the CO2, and later checked the carbon in the E. coli cells- same label. This shows that the bacteria integrated the carbon from the gas as part of their cells. The scientists also sequenced the bacterias' genes to confirm. This study shows a very promising development in the field of climate change! Imagine if small but mighty bacteria could help save the Earth from ridiculously hot temperatures?
