Microbes form living electrical networks to filter methane from ocean floor, scientists discover

USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences has uncovered how tiny microorganisms work together as a living electrical network to consume some of this gas before it escapes, acting as a powerful living filter.

By revealing how these microbes naturally reduce methane emissions, the findings could lead to innovative strategies to better control methane release in both natural and engineered environments.

The study, published in the journal Science Advances, sheds light on a unique partnership between two very different microbes: anaerobic methanotrophic archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB).

Alone, neither microbe can consume methane. When ANME break down methane, the process releases electrons that must be offloaded—a process known as a redox reaction, in which electrons move from one molecule to another—much like how humans rely on oxygen to accept electrons. Without an electron acceptor, methane consumption stalls.

While unable to consume methane themselves, the SRB help by accepting the electrons released during the process and transferring them to SRB's electron acceptor, sulfate, which powers their own metabolism.

"These two very different microbes come together into physically interconnected bundles," said Moh El-Naggar, Dean's Professor of Physics and Astronomy and professor of chemistry and biological sciences at USC Dornsife and one of the study's lead researchers. "And the whole process works because conductive redox proteins link them up into functioning electrical circuits."

Using specialized electrochemical methods, the international research team—including scientists from Caltech, Peking University and the Max Planck Institute of Marine Microbiology—measured this electron exchange in the lab for the first time, using samples collected from different marine methane seeps, including the Mediterranean Sea, Guaymas Basin and the California coast.

The rest of the 'Thomas Gold' keyword, sorted:

SETI breakthrough! NASA scientist discovers three repeating ET signals coming from nearby stars! [19:57] [06/24/2025]
Hidden at the Bottom of a 2,516 Meter Hole in Finland, Scientists Made a Volatile Organic Discovery [03/04/2025]
"Dark oxygen" discovery upends centuries of scientific beliefs, textbooks to be rewritten [01/31/2025]
2-Billion-Year-Old Rock Found Harboring Microbes -- And They're Still Alive [10/09/2024]
Deep-Ocean Minerals Generate Oxygen at 13,000 Feet Below Surface [07/23/2024]
NASA's Webb Finds Signs of Possible Aurorae on Isolated Brown Dwarf [01/10/2024]
Tucker Carlson - Ep. 62 If Fossil Fuels Come From Fossils, Why Have Scientists Found Them On One Of Saturn's Moons? [01/09/2024]
L. Fletcher Prouty: Oil is not a fossil fuel; it is the second most prevalent liquid on Earth [09/29/2023]
Astronomers say carbon dioxide on Jupiter's moon Europa likely originated in ocean [09/22/2023]
Strange life forms create an "alien" ecosystem in an abandoned uranium mine [02/07/2023]
Earth Is An Oil-Producing Machine -- We're Not Running Out: Fossil Fuels is a misnomer. Research from the last decade found that hydrocarbons are synthesized abiotically. [12/10/2022]
Scientists revive 100 million-year-old microbes from the sea [07/28/2020]
Scientists Revive 100-Million-Year-Old Microbes Found Deep Below the Bottom of the Ocean [07/28/2020]
Bizarre life-forms found thriving in ancient rocks beneath the seafloor [04/04/2020]
Nobody knows what's creating oxygen on Mars [11/14/2019]
Cause of mysterious methane spikes on Mars still unknown [08/14/2019]
NASA's Curiosity Rover Detects Spike in Methane on Mars [06/22/2019]
No Signs of Aliens in the Closest 1,300 Stars, Hunt Funded by Russian Billionaire Reveals [06/19/2019]
Curiosity rover confirms source of seasonal methane spikes on Mars [04/02/2019]
There Is Definitely Methane on Mars, Scientists Say. But Is It a Sign of Life? [04/01/2019]
Alien Hunters, Stop Using the Drake Equation [12/29/2018]
Life in deep Earth totals 15 to 23 billion tons of carbon -- hundreds of times more than humans [12/10/2018]
There be dragons? Creatures you might find on a real journey to the centre of the Earth [04/26/2016]
Earth Is An Oil-Producing Machine Ã¢¬" We're Not Running Out [11/06/2015]
New methane organisms discovered [10/23/2015]
Oil-Eating Microbes Have Worldwide Underground Connections [03/13/2015]
Astronomy Picture of the Day -- The Mysterious Methane of Mars [12/24/2014]
Whoops! Earth's Oldest 'Diamonds' Actually Polishing Grit [01/03/2014]
Surprising Trove of Gas Seeps Found Off East Coast [06/21/2013]
What If Oil Lasts Forever? Fossil fuels may not be finite. This'd be a miracle -- and a nightmare [04/25/2013]
Most of Earth covered with life powered on hydrogen. Living Rocks? [03/20/2013]
Microbes Likely Abundant Hundreds of Meters Below Sea Floor [03/15/2013]
Hydrocarbons Could Form Deep In the Earth From Methane, Not Animal Remains [12/25/2012]
Scientists Find Mega-Oil Field ... 1,300 Light Years Away [12/13/2012]
No Sign of Methane on Mars; Abstract Thought Melts Political Convictions [11/02/2012]
Gases Created When Meteors Slam into Planets May Provide False-Positives of Life [09/25/2012]
Billions of Tons of Methane Lurk Beneath Antarctic Ice [08/29/2012]
Oldest known impact crater found [07/08/2012]
Fossil Fuels. When are we going to stop using this false description of anaerobic oil? [06/04/2012]
Arctic melt releasing ancient methane [05/20/2012]
Huge Natural Gas From Methane Hydrates Process Developed [05/03/2012]
XKCD - Lakes and Oceans [04/09/2012]
What If Oil and Natural Gas Are Renewable Resources? (Evidence mounting on limitless supply of oil) [03/19/2012]
What If Oil and Natural Gas Are Renewable Resources? [03/18/2012]
The Oil Scarcity Myth [03/17/2012]
Unconventional Completion Technology Revives Old Oil Fields [02/24/2012]
300 million year old fossilized forest discovered under coal mine in China [02/22/2012]
Methane Bubbling to Arctic Ocean Surface in Giant Plumes [12/15/2011]
NASA Finds Hydrocarbons on Saturn's Moon Hyperion [07/16/2011]
Are we sitting on unlimited fossil-fuel resources? [06/03/2011]
'Worms from hell' unearth possibilities for extraterrestrial life [06/02/2011]
Everything you've heard about fossil fuels may be wrong [05/31/2011]
Scientists plan to drill all the way down to the Earth's mantle [05/21/2011]
Hydrocarbons in the deep earth - (Renewable? Maybe..National Academy of Science weights in) [05/11/2011]
Hydrocarbons Deep Within Earth: New Computational Study Reveals How [04/18/2011]
Hydrocarbons Could Form Deep In the Earth From Methane, Not Animal Remains [04/16/2011]
Hydrocarbons in the deep earth (abiogenic) [04/15/2011]
Bacteria devoured methane gas from gulf oil spill, scientists say [01/07/2011]
Life is found in deepest layer of Earth's crust [11/19/2010]
Study: Petroleum-eating microbes significantly reduced gulf oil plume ( Deepwater Horizon oilspill ) [08/24/2010]
New microbe discovered eating oil spill in Gulf [08/24/2010]
Hydrocarbons In The Deep Earth? [08/09/2010]
WHOI scientists find ancient asphalt domes off California coast (Maltenes?) [04/25/2010]
Abiotic Oil and Gas: A Theory That Refuses To Vanish [03/29/2010]
Debunking the Myth of Peak Oil - Why the Age of Cheap Oil is Far From Over [03/17/2010]
Hidden Gas Source Could Speed Global Warming [03/05/2010]
New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial soup' as the origin of life [02/02/2010]
Much of the early methane rise can be attributed to the spreading of northern peatlands [01/14/2010]
Abiotic Synthesis Of Methane: New Evidence Supports 19th-Century Idea On Formation Of Oil [12/20/2009]
Scientists Find Black Gold Amidst Overlooked Data [11/23/2009]
New evidence supports 19th century idea on formation of oil and gas [11/04/2009]
Revolutionary discovery means world may not run out of crude [09/14/2009]
Easier to find oil ( Abiogenic ? ) [09/11/2009]
Methane-derived hydrocarbons produced under upper-mantle conditions [09/11/2009]
Fossil fuel: Now without the fossils-Just dig deeper, say boffins [09/11/2009]
A Seismic Shift In Understanding How The Earth Got Its Gas [08/30/2009]
Can Hydrocarbons Form in the Mantle Without Organic Matter? [07/28/2009]
Hydrocarbons in the deep Earth? (Oil comes from non-plant sources) [07/27/2009]
New research shows how oil gets stuck underground (Denmark) [05/11/2009]
Methane-producing mineral discovered on Mars [03/28/2009]
Half Of The Oil In The Ocean Bubbles Up Naturally From Seafloor [02/23/2009]
Life found on Mars? [01/14/2009]
BBC Audio: Dyson and Clarke (archive of BBC interviews with Freeman Dyson,Arthur C. Clarke & more!) [12/26/2008]
The List: The World's Largest Untapped Oil Fields [12/01/2008]
Plumes of methane identified on Mars - Finding could influence choice of landing site for Mars... [10/21/2008]
One is the loneliest number for mine-dwelling bacterium [10/09/2008]
At 2.8 km down, a 1-of-a-kind microorganism lives all alone [descende, Audax viator ...] [10/09/2008]
Rare Microorganism That Produces Hydrogen May Be Key To Tomorrow's Hydrogen Economy [07/08/2008]
Meet the Intraterrestrials [06/12/2008]
Scientists Document Bustling Community Far Below Ocean Floor [05/27/2008]
Dinosaur killer may have struck oil [05/08/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/16/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/14/2008]
Titan Has More Oil Than Earth [02/13/2008]
Titan's surface organics surpass oil reserves on Earth [02/13/2008]
BLACK-GOLD BLUES Discovery backs theory oil not 'fossil fuel' [02/02/2008]
Deep-ocean vents are a source of oil and gas (evidence of abiogenic hydrocarbons) [01/31/2008]
Lost City pumps life-essential chemicals at rates unseen at typical black smokers [01/31/2008]
Shedding light on deep-sea thermal vents [01/15/2008]
Oil-eating bacteria make light work of heavy fuel [12/12/2007]
Massive deep-water oil find in Brazil challenges technology [12/01/2007]
Newly Discovered Methane-Consuming Bacterium Could Help Reduce GHG Emissions ... [11/26/2007]
Energy answers sought in Earth's crust [08/13/2007]
Heretical Thoughts About Science and Society [Freeman Dyson chides global warming alarmists] [08/10/2007]
'Peak oil' doomsayers fall silent as reserves grow ever larger [04/12/2007]
Rebel with a Cause: The Optimistic Scientist [04/10/2007]
Sea floor records ancient Earth [03/23/2007]
The Origins of Peak Oil Doomerism [12/11/2006]
If hydrocarbons are renewable- then is "Peak Oil" a fraud? [12/05/2006]
CNBC Live: Earth Oil Supplies 3x Previous Estimates [11/14/2006]
Geologist: Earth has lots and lots of oil (error in DRUDGE story - UPI may fix) [10/20/2006]
Prospecting for Oil? Look In an Asteroid Crater [10/07/2006]
Plenty of Oil -- Just Drill Deeper [09/06/2006]
Peak oil theorists don't know Jack ( It Could Increase U.S. Reserves by 50% ) [09/05/2006]
Marine Methane Heats Things Up [09/01/2006]
Time Before Time [speculative cosmology] [08/30/2006]
Gas escaping from ocean floor may drive global warming [07/20/2006]
Oil Is Well: The Shortage Is A Myth, And Not A New One [06/04/2006]
Does Deep Earth Host Untapped Fuel? [03/05/2006]
Are There Aliens Already on Earth? [02/20/2006]
UC Riverside Researchers Identify Clay as Major Contributor to Oxygen that Enabled Early Animal Life [02/03/2006]
Perspective: India's next big business? (Oil) [12/17/2005]
'Fossil fuel' theory takes hit with NASA finding [12/02/2005]
At 30,000 feet down, where were the dinosaurs? [11/29/2005]
Finally, an international conference on abiotic oil [11/23/2005]
What if we don't run out of oil? [11/15/2005]
Shaped from clay [origin of life] [11/04/2005]
Methane on Mars: the plot thickens [08/02/2005]
LINK LISTING - Space Propulsion Techniques and Technologies [01/24/2005]
Hydrogen Production Method Could Bolster Fuel Supplies [11/27/2004]
Fossil Fuels Made without Fossils [10/28/2004]
A new potential source of fuel, buried deep underground ~ methane gas created in lab with rocks only [10/10/2004]
About Coal: America's most abundant energy resource [10/07/2004]
Abiotic Theory of Oil Formation [06/09/2004]
Petroleum age is just beginning [08/15/2003]
Anything into Oil(solution to dependence on foregn oil?) [04/21/2003]
Oil Without End? [02/15/2003]
Early Water on Earth [02/09/2003]
Research Finds Life 1000 Feet Beneath Ocean Floor [01/03/2003]
Supplies of oil may be inexhaustible [05/29/2002]
Potential oil supply refill? [05/28/2002]
Oil Fields' Free Refill - More oil than we thought (maybe) [04/23/2002]
Huge hydrogen stores found below Earth's crust [04/15/2002]
The world has more oil not less [12/24/2001]
Scientist stirs the cauldron: oil, he says, is renewable [11/19/2001]
Oil Czar and ally [10/11/2001]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.