Grow bacteria that only 'eat' CO2

The success of this work could help develop future technologies to reduce the greenhouse gas effect in the atmosphere and combat global warming.

According to research published in this issue of the November 27 issue of the journal Cell, this bacterium grows whole body biomass from CO ₂ in the air. Israeli scientists were able to "reprogram" E.coli bacteria, which consume sugar and emit CO ₂ , so it uses CO2 from the environment and produces sugar. they need to feed their body.

These bacteria use CO2 from the environment and produce the sugars they need to feed their bodies.

Experts have mapped bacteria genes, adding new genes to their genes to create a bacterial genome in the lab. In addition, they also implanted in bacteria a gene that allows them to receive energy from a substance called formate . This process is not enough to make bacteria change their diet, so the process of "revolutionizing the laboratory" slowly separates them from sugar. At each stage of the process, the bacteria's behavior is accustomed to reducing sugar and at the same time they receive an excess of CO2 and formate. Later generations of bacteria slowly escaped their dependence on sugar until about 6 months later, they became accustomed to new digestive mechanisms. Some bacteria undergo a complete transformation in nutrition.

Researchers believe that this "eating" habit of this bacterium may be beneficial to Earth's health. For example, biotechnology companies using bacterial or yeast cell structures will produce chemical products that can produce this bacterium in cells using CO ₂ instead of Use a large amount of corn syrup today.