Can bacteria eat Greenhouse gas???



Good bacteria that eats bad Greenhouse gas:


Methanotrophic bacteria, commonly called “methanotrophs,” take copper from the environment to fix into their molecular machinery that metabolizes methane, turning it into methanol for food. To obtain copper, many methanotrophs secrete a chemically modified peptide called methanobactin, which tightly binds to copper ions to pull them into the cell. Until now, the cellular machinery that drives the formation of methanobactin has been little understood.
These bacteria that oxidise methane (methanotrophs) are found in soil and are globally important in capturing methane before it enters the atmosphere, and can also consume hydrogen gas to enhance their growth and survival.
Methanotrophs can survive in environments when methane or oxygen are no longer available. With the ability to leech heavy metals from the environment and digest a potent greenhouse gas, methanotrophic bacteria pull double duty when it comes to cleaning up the environment in one molecular gulp.

Some scientists propose venting methane emissions through filters of these bacteria to scrub it out of the atmosphere. Others suggest feeding leftover methane from natural gas reserves to the bacteria so they can convert the gas into methanol — instead of exercising the typical solution of burning it. Then, the methanol could be stored and later used for fuel. The bacteria could also be used to dispose of copper and other heavy metals where levels are unnaturally high, preventing illness in humans.
Researchers have identified two never-before-studied proteins, called MbnB and MbnC, as partially responsible for the bacteria’s inner workings. Together, these proteins form an iron-containing enzyme complex that converts an amino acid into two organic chemical groups. This chemistry results in methanobactin, which recruits copper into the cell.  Scientists discovered that these two proteins drive methanobactin production across all families of methanobactin-producing species, including non-methanotrophs.

This discovery makes it easier for researchers to study methanobactin because they can work with the proteins in test tubes rather than manipulate entire living microorganisms. It also brings the world closer to methanotrophs’ promising applications. Many people imagine using filters constructed from the bacteria to scrub methane out of the atmosphere or to help remove methane from  natural gas reserves.
For more details: http://bacteriology.infectiousconferences.com/  


   

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