http://infodatnet.blogspot.com/2018/09/las-bacterias-de-nuestro-estomago.html
Our guts are full of microorganisms. The gut microbiota contains many species, some of which are beneficial and others can be harmful. A recent study has brought to light an interesting secret, very well hidden by these bacteria: they are capable of producing electricity .
This affects an enormous number of species and families of microbes, many of which we could never have imagined. But what are the implications for our health? And for scientific advancement? We may be looking at the centerpiece of the new biopiles.
Mini power plants in your intestine
We already knew that there are several bacterial groups capable of producing electricity living in lakes, mines and other environments that are extreme . But, to date, we did not imagine that many of the bacteria that we live with every day are also capable of doing so .
A recent study published by the University of California, Berkeley, claims to have shown that species such as Listeria monocytogenes , the cause of listeriosis, Clostridium perfringens , responsible for gangrene, Enterococcus faecalis , to which we owe certain gastroenteritis, or lactobacilli, which they are part of the protective biota, they can also do it.
These microorganisms belong to what is inappropriately called "intestinal flora". According to the research, these organisms are capable of producing electricity by a completely different mechanism than those described to date. The discovery is of interest for two fundamental questions.
The first is that it could represent an advance in the knowledge about the interaction of these bacteria and human beings. The second is that these very abundant microorganisms could be the essential piece to create biopiles , that is, batteries made with microorganisms.
Breathing metal
How does the mechanism that turns a bacterium into a small biological pile work? These microorganisms generate electricity for the same reason that we breathe oxygen : to eliminate electrons produced during the metabolism of respiration, obtaining energy to live.
While animals and plants transfer these electrons to oxygen, within the mitochondria of each cell, bacteria in oxygen-free environments produce a process called fermentation. In fermentation other substances are used as "electron acceptors", that is to say, where the electron ends up in the process generated to obtain energy .
The same happens at the bottom of a mine or a lake, but also in our intestines, where the environment is mainly anaerobic, without oxygen. In metallic environments, bacteria "breathe" metal , in a certain sense, since they transmit these electrons to this substance in a special process, different from what happens in our cells, although essentially similar.
The essential difference is that this transfer of electrons is carried out extracellularly, with the external metal atoms. This causes an electric current. Something very similar happens with our intestinal biota, only it is simpler: bacteria use flavin , a molecule derived from vitamin B12, to get rid of these electrons.
This only happens with gram positive bacteria, that is, bacteria that only have one cell wall (and that are one of the large groups of prokaryotes). And, the researchers explain, this could be because it is easier for these bacteria to transfer an electron when there is little availability of oxygen or another substance that serves as an electron acceptor in fermentation.
From the flavor of chuchrut to biopiles
According to the study, these bacteria are capable of producing about 100,000 electrons per second per bacterium. This figure is comparable to the rest of known electrogenerating microorganisms. More importantly, this is an electrical current that, although subtle, could make a difference in many, many processes. For example, in fermentation processes, such as the creation of sauerkraut or yogurt, what role does it play?
This current could play an essential role in food production or in our health
That is, these electrons end up somewhere, changing their charge. What if these represent an essential change in the production of these foods? This current could play an essential role, for example, in the way these bacteria have when interacting with others, or with our cells. Therefore, a new and interesting door to study on these microorganisms opens here, especially now that the focus is on our microbiome.
On the other hand, the fact that this type of bacteria produce a measurable current and under suitable conditions gives us another interesting opportunity: to build biopiles. The piles of biological origin are one of the most innovative projects in energy production, but now is still in its early stages of life.
These types of batteries use biological metabolic mechanisms to produce a current of electrons. Although there are all kinds of them , being able to use a bioreactor full of cells that regulate their environment and maintain a population is a very interesting advance in the conception of a clean and practically unlimited power generator.
Another good point, the researchers point out, is that we already know many of these bacteria and, in addition, we have great control over bioreactors to maintain controlled populations of these. Thus, we would only need to adapt our knowledge to be able to build a battery from a practically perennial mass of these bacteria.
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