Scientists Engineer E. Coli Bacteria to Generate Electricity

Ever since 1911, when British mycologist Michael Cressé Potter noticed that [brewer's yeast generated electricity](https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1911.0073), scientists have been trying to harness the power of [microbial fuel cells](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microbial_fuel_cell).)

a team of researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) has engineered one of the most common species of bacteria, [*Escherichia coli*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli), to generate electricity from brewery wastewater – and it has surpassed the most recent bioengineered strains.)

To enhance *E. coli's* ability to generate electricity, the researchers modified its genome to include instructions for [protein complexes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytochrome) found in [*Shewanella oneidensis*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shewanella_oneidensis), one of the best-known bacterial electricity generators.)

"Instead of putting energy into the system to process organic waste, we are producing electricity while processing organic waste at the same time – hitting two birds with one stone," [says](https://actu.epfl.ch/news/bacteria-generate-electricity-from-wastewater/) Boghossian)