Phys.org August 12, 2024 Methane and nitrous oxide (N2O) are greenhouse gases that rank second and third behind carbon dioxide as primary contributors to global warming and climate change. Outside of fossil sources, these gases are emitted by microorganisms as they interact with their environment. Researchers in Canada many strategies have targeted reduction of methane emissions. However, the microbial communities that live in these settings can respond to mitigation efforts by producing more N2O, which reduces or even negates the positive climate impact. Mitigation approaches often have not accounted for these trade-offs, and doing so requires additional monitoring to make […]
Tag Archives: Microbes
Deep Earth electrical grid mystery solved
Science Daily March 20, 2024 Extracellular electron transfer (EET) via microbial nanowires drives important environmental processes and biotechnological applications for bioenergy, bioremediation, and bioelectronics. However, the process is not clear. An international team of researchers (USA – Yale University, Portugal) showed that Geobacter sulfurreducens periplasmic cytochromes PpcABCDE inject electrons directly into OmcS nanowires by binding transiently with differing efficiencies, with the least-abundant cytochrome (PpcC) showing the highest efficiency. This defined nanowire-charging pathway was evolutionarily conserved in phylogenetically diverse bacteria capable of EET. OmcS heme reduction potentials were within 200 mV of each other, with a midpoint 82 mV-higher than reported previously. […]