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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Thrifty bacteria thrive on something in the air

Borrowed genes help E. coli to subsist on the relatively modest levels of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere.
Scanning electron microscope image of Escherichia coli bacteria.

Escherichia coli bacteria normally derive carbon from food but can be altered to take it from the air. Credit: Martin Oeggerli/SPL

Plants, algae and other photosynthetic organisms draw their carbon from carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere. This process is catalysed by an enzyme called Rubisco, which works inefficiently at atmospheric levels of CO2. As a workaround, many plants and other photosynthetic organisms use systems called CO2-concentrating mechanisms, which raise CO2 levels near this enzyme to improve its efficiency.

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Nature 587, 11 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03037-2

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