In a groundbreaking discovery, scientists have figured out how certain bacteria generate electricity to survive—offering exciting possibilities for clean energy and biotechnology.
The research, led by Professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin of Rice University, reveals that these bacteria use a special kind of “breathing” that doesn’t involve oxygen.
Instead, they push electrons out into their environment, generating an electric current.
The findings, published in the journal Cell, solve a long-standing scientific mystery and open the door to new technologies that use bacteria to generate power or support industrial processes.
These electricity-producing microbes have been studied before, but how exactly they created energy without oxygen was unclear—until now.
Most living things, including humans and plants, rely on oxygen to release energy from food. But bacteria are much older forms of life and have developed ways to live in oxygen-free places like deep-sea vents or even inside our digestive systems.
The Rice University team discovered that some of these bacteria use naturally occurring chemicals called naphthoquinones to move electrons outside of their cells.
This unique process is called extracellular respiration and works a bit like a tiny biological battery.
Biki Bapi Kundu, a doctoral student and the study’s first author, explained that naphthoquinones act like delivery workers, carrying electrons from inside the bacterial cell to a nearby surface. This allows the bacteria to keep producing energy even without oxygen.
To better understand the process, the Rice team worked with researchers at the University of California San Diego.
They used computer models to simulate environments with no oxygen but rich in conductive materials—like metals.
These simulations showed that bacteria could still survive and generate electricity by using the surrounding surface to “breathe.” Lab experiments confirmed it: the bacteria grew on conductive surfaces and released electricity, just as predicted.
This discovery has big implications for clean technology. In wastewater treatment, for example, managing excess electrons can be tricky. These bacteria could help balance the system naturally. In other areas, like manufacturing using microbes or even turning carbon dioxide into useful products with renewable electricity, this kind of bacterial behavior could become a key part of the solution.
Professor Ajo-Franklin believes this research lays the foundation for smarter, biology-based technologies. These bacteria could one day be used in bioelectric sensors, medical tools, pollution monitors, or even systems to support life in space—anywhere that traditional power sources struggle.
As we look for more sustainable ways to power our world, nature may already have the answer—in the form of microscopic creatures that have been doing it for billions of years.
Source: Rice University.
