Methane-eating microbes grown on electrodes build electrically conductive nanowires

Certain microorganisms (anaerobic methanotrophic archaea, or ANME) consume methane and convert it into electricity, as research conducted four years ago by microbiologist Cornelia Welte of Radboud University revealed. New research by Welte and her colleagues published in Nature Communications now shows that these methane-consuming organisms do this by producing nanowires through which they can transmit the electricity they generate. The researchers have also succeeded in cultivating these specific microorganisms in almost pure form in the lab.