18-05-2025
Microbes that capture CO2 quickly could offer promising solution to climate change
Researchers have discovered a microbe that can capture carbon dioxide quickly, and it sinks, essentially sequestering concentrated carbon Chonkus, the microbe is a type of cyanobacteria, which feeds on carbon dioxide through photosynthesis like plants. Researchers revealed that only these can consume much more CO2 than their multi-celled from Colorado State University found that these microbes, or microscopic organisms, have adapted to harsh conditions and have developed specialized traits – some of which could be beneficial to people by gobbling up carbon dioxide or cleaning harmful pollutants from the environment.
"We believe that we have found new organisms, and we know that they have unique characteristics purely from the fact that they're growing and thriving in some of these unusual environments," said James Henriksen, a Colorado State University scientist."Half the air you're breathing comes from microbes. There's not just unknown species. It's like there's a rainforest everywhere you look, and we know almost nothing about the organisms there and what they can do."The microbiologist highlighted that such microbes play key roles in carbon and nitrogen cycles and are essential for life on the planet.
Henriksen said that homes are colonized by bacteria that are harmless and just part of the household microbes aren't visible to the naked eye, but once enough of these microscopic, single-celled organisms build up into a noticeable film, they are demonstrating capabilities that could potentially be harnessed to solve human problems.
Researchers revealed that the extremophiles can be found in places that are hot or cold or that alternate between wet and dry.
Henriksen and his team, which includes undergraduate student researchers from across the University, will decipher the DNA of all the organisms collected for testing through metagenomic sequencing. Samples will be frozen and stored for future study, and organisms with valuable characteristics will be cultivated and tested, according to a press release.
They believe that these organisms, which might be lurking in the dark recesses of our homes, could be climate change solutions.
Natural springs have unusual chemistry, and Colorado, California, and other western states have a lot of springs rich in carbon dioxide that could contain useful microbes.
The Extremophile Campaign: In Your Home – a partnership among CitSci (short for citizen science), the Two Frontiers Project and SeedLabs – launched in October to leverage participatory science in the quest to identify helpful organisms. Henriksen said they've already made some new discoveries.
"Life is surviving and thriving in this hot water, in water that is as carbonated as soda pop and as acidic as lemon juice," said Henriksen. "Microbes are pulling high concentrations of CO2 out of the water, out of the air, and they're building that slime or the green algae that you see."
