An alternative source for producing clean energy ... bacteria that eat up ethane

The little Muhammad Western

Researchers from the Max Planck Institute in Germany have discovered a new species of microbes that live in the deep openings in the deep sea, and feed on ethane, the second most common component of natural gas.

This mechanism by which bacteria break down ethane can be reversed - according to these researchers - which may be allowed in the future to use it to produce this gas as an energy source and reduce carbon emissions from various sources of pollution. The study was published by the scientific journal "M Pew" on April 21st.

"A consortium"
led by the research team led by Gunter Wegener of the Max Planck Institute for Marine Biology - in cooperation with researchers from other institutes - the previously unknown microbe on the seabed of the Guaymas Basin at a depth of two thousand meters below the surface in the Gulf of California.

"The Guaymas Basin is a natural laboratory teeming with new species. Responsible for this exceptional diversity are hot fluids flowing from the sea floor, which attract many different species," says Wegener.

Unlike animals that digest proteins, carbohydrates and fats only, microorganisms such as bacteria also feed on a variety of other organic compounds including natural gas.

Microbes are also known to convert a variety of organic compounds into energy, and many of them devour their favorite food source individually without assistance. But some are organized in the form of a cooperative or "consortium" for their meals.

But this is the first time that scientists have discovered species that survive on the devouring of the two main components of natural gas (methane and ethane) in a process that requires cooperation between two different types of microbes, bacteria and unicellular organisms also called ancient bacteria or archaea.

A new type of bacterium
The types of bacteria that need to cooperate with other types to convert food are very slow to reproduce, and a single split process may require a few months. Therefore, studying it in the lab is difficult, as scientists say.

But scientists were surprised by this new study when they found that the microbes - which consume ethane at the bottom of the Guaymas Basin - are growing rapidly as cells multiply every week.

"In this way, we now have enough biomass to conduct large-scale analyzes, enabling us to identify the major intermediate compounds in ethane decomposition," said researcher Cedric Han of the Max Institute.

The researchers called the ancient discovered bacteria - previously unknown to scientists - the name Ethanoperedens thermophilum, which means "a thermophilic ethan".

They also published their genetic sequences to understand their function, and how they adapt to their environment around the hot sources of ethane leaking in the deep sea.

Researchers have also discovered that the decomposition of the ethane produced by these microbes is reversible. Some relatives of newly discovered bacteria devour carbon dioxide and release the ethane. It is an interesting process in biotechnology applications.

Possible applications
Lazo Perez, a study participant, says, "We are currently working to understand how these bacteria work very efficiently. If we understand their tricks, we can multiply them in the laboratory and use them to obtain resources that are currently extracted from natural gas."

The authors of the study say that the discovered microbes can be important to the global carbon cycle, and in reducing the increase in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere in two ways.

On the one hand, these organisms consume ethane in the deep sea and thus prevent it from reaching the atmosphere. On the other hand, it can inspire researchers to develop an industrial solution to reduce carbon emissions from various pollution sources.

"This road is still long, but we are continuing our research," says Wegner, who adds "one thing we know for sure: we should not underestimate the smallest inhabitants of the sea."