Lecture

Light-harvesting Bioenergy: Microbial Electrosynthesis

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Description

This lecture explores the frontier of NanoBioengineering, focusing on the development of next-generation optical devices. It delves into the blurring interface between living and non-living materials, the potential of light-harvesting bioenergy, and the use of photosynthetic bacteria for photovoltaics. The lecture discusses the introduction of electron transport abilities to bacteria, the expression of Shewanella proteins in cyanobacteria, and the enhanced microbial photo-production using nanomaterials. It also covers the design of PEDOT-coated graphite electrodes, the confirmation of current production from photosynthesis, and the future directions for increasing photocurrent through bioengineering. The lecture concludes with bioengineered cyanobacteria for the food industry and E. coli for microbial fuel cells.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Biology

Cell biology: Photosynthesis

Related concepts (28)

Purple bacteria

Purple bacteria or purple photosynthetic bacteria are Gram-negative proteobacteria that are phototrophic, capable of producing their own food via photosynthesis. They are pigmented with bacteriochlorophyll a or b, together with various carotenoids, which give them colours ranging between purple, red, brown, and orange. They may be divided into two groups – purple sulfur bacteria (Chromatiales, in part) and purple non-sulfur bacteria.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis (ˌfoʊtəˈsɪnθəsɪs ) is a biological process used by many cellular organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy, which is stored in organic compounds that can later be metabolized through cellular respiration to fuel the organism's activities. The term usually refers to oxygenic photosynthesis, where oxygen is produced as a byproduct, and some of the chemical energy produced is stored in carbohydrate molecules such as sugars, starch and cellulose, which are synthesized from endergonic reaction of carbon dioxide with water.

Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria (saɪˌænoʊbækˈtɪəri.ə), also called Cyanobacteriota or Cyanophyta, are a phylum of gram-negative bacteria that obtain energy via photosynthesis. The name cyanobacteria refers to their color (), which similarly forms the basis of cyanobacteria's common name, blue-green algae, although they are not usually scientifically classified as algae. They appear to have originated in a freshwater or terrestrial environment.

Green sulfur bacteria

The green sulfur bacteria, Chlorobiota, are a phylum of obligately anaerobic photoautotrophic bacteria that metabolize sulfur. Green sulfur bacteria are nonmotile (except Chloroherpeton thalassium, which may glide) and capable of anoxygenic photosynthesis. They live in anaerobic aquatic environments. In contrast to plants, green sulfur bacteria mainly use sulfide ions as electron donors. They are autotrophs that utilize the reverse tricarboxylic acid cycle to perform carbon fixation. They are also mixotrophs and reduce nitrogen.

Anoxygenic photosynthesis

Anoxygenic photosynthesis is a special form of photosynthesis used by some bacteria and archaea, which differs from the better known oxygenic photosynthesis in plants in the reductant used (e.g. hydrogen sulfide instead of water) and the byproduct generated (e.g. elemental sulfur instead of molecular oxygen). Several groups of bacteria can conduct anoxygenic photosynthesis: green sulfur bacteria (GSB), red and green filamentous phototrophs (FAPs e.g. Chloroflexia), purple bacteria, acidobacteriota, and heliobacteria.

Related lectures (43)

Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

Explores anoxygenic photosynthesis, redox potential, cyclic electron flow, ATP generation, green sulfur bacteria, chlorosomes, and prokaryotic phototroph diversity.

Photosynthesis: Microbial Mechanisms and Ecological Implications

Covers the mechanisms of photosynthesis, focusing on microbial processes and their ecological significance.

Nano: Fundamentals and Applications

Explores the fundamentals and applications of nanostructures, including dimensionalities, surface-to-volume ratio, fabrication techniques, and nanotechnology's impact on various fields.