Bacteria that breathe electricity can assist deep space exploration

This is not sci-fi. Researchers have just found that some bacteria don’t breathe oxygen; they breathe electricity.

A team of researchers led by Rice University bioscientist Caroline Ajo-Franklin just blew open the black box of bacterial breathing, and what they found is pure electricity.

Published in Cell, the study reveals that certain bacteria survive in oxygen-free environments by pushing out electrons and dumping them onto surrounding materials.Instead of exhaling carbon dioxide like us, molecules called naphthoquinones push electrons through their outer membranes, mimicking the way batteries discharge electricity.

To prove their point, the Rice team simulated bacterial survival in places where oxygen is nonexistent but conductive materials, like metals or minerals, are abundant.

The simulations showed that bacteria can survive by pushing electrons out of their cells, essentially powering themselves without oxygen. Lab experiments backed this up. When placed on conductive surfaces, the bacteria kept growing and producing electricity, as if they were breathing through the material itself.

"This newly discovered mechanism of respiration is a simple and ingenious way to get the job done," said Biki Bapi Kundu, a Rice doctoral student and the lead author of the study. "Naphthoquinones act like molecular couriers, carrying electrons out of the cell so the bacteria can break down food and generate energy."

A phenomenon called extracellular respiration has been a scientific mystery for years. Researchers knew it happened, but not how. Now, with the current discovery, it turns out this mode of respiration might not be rare. On the contrary, it could be widespread across nature.

"Our research not only solves a long-standing scientific mystery, but it also points to a new and potentially widespread survival strategy in nature," said Ajo-Franklin, professor of biosciences.

Electricity-producing bacteria helps in space

The discovery could have a far-reaching impact on science. The discovery enables harnessing carbon dioxide through renewable electricity, where bacteria function similarly to plants with sunlight in photosynthesis.

These electricity-exhaling microbes could help balance electron flow in complex bioreactors or power microbial fuel cells in remote, oxygen-deprived environments, such as from deep-sea rigs to outer space habitats where traditional tech might fail to survive.

"It opens the door to building smarter, more sustainable technologies with biology at the core," said Ajo-Franklin.