Harvesting Excess High-Energy Electrons for Fuel or Food

Cyanobacteria are able to absorb much more solar energy than they can utilize. Prof Jones’s research seeks to develop mechanisms to take advantage of this excess energy. In collaboration with chemists, biophysicts, and synthetic biologists, she aims to use conductive pili found in some bacteria to transfer energy, in the form of reducing electrons, from a photosynthetic cell to a fuel-producing one. This optimizes the light capturing and fuel producing reactions of separate species.