1. SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY:
Er. RINALDO JOHN ANIKESH Kr. SINGH
P.ID. : 14BSMBH017
B.Sc.(H) MICROBIOLOGY
7th SEMESTER
2. INTRODUCTION
The word cyborg was invented when we
started to imagine giving people super-
human capabilities by integrating
mechanical or electrical equipment into
biological systems.
Think of Darth Vader, Iron Man, or the 6
Million Dollar Man as concept studies.
3. Moorella thermoacetica a bacterium is used
as cyborg to creat a new revolution in fuel
production and pollution control by Kelsey K.
Sakimoto in Yang's lab at the University of
California, Berkeley.
This bacteria resides at the bottom of very still
swamps, silently breathing in carbon dioxide
and excreting acetic acid.
M. thermoacetica is a model acetogen & also
the 1st acetogen to be mapped.
4. Cont…
They are gram(+)ve and rod shaped
baceria.
They ranging in size from 0.4-2.8µm.
In nature they are found in soil, at the
bottom of stagnant pond.
The bacterium is thermophile, growing at
58 ⁰C.
It is anaerobic.
5. How a normal bacteria
changed into cyborg
bacteria?
After combing through old microbiology
literature, researchers realised that some bugs
have a natural defence to cadmium, mercury or
lead that lets them turn the heavy metal into a
sulphide which the bacteria express as a tiny,
crystal semiconductor on their surfaces.
Normally, Moorella thermoacetica uses carbon
dioxide to produce acetic acid, which can
eventually be turned into fuels and plastics.
6.
7.
8. Cont…
To produce his cyborg bacteria, Kelsey K.
Sakimoto fed them the amino acid cysteine and
the element cadmium.
The bacteria then synthesised cadmium sulfide
(CdS) nanoparticles, which efficiently absorb
light, functioning as solar panels on the
bacteria's surfaces.
The new hybrid organism, called Moorella
thermoacetica-CdS, produces useful acetic acid
from light energy, water, and CO2 at a rate that
outperforms any sources of natural
photosynthesis.
9.
10. ADVANTAGES
This bacteria are much more efficient
than chlorophyll at converting sunlight
into useful compounds.
They can be grown at a fraction of the
cost of manufactured solar panels.
They operate at an efficiency of more
than 80 percent.
11. Cont…
They are both self-replicating and self-
regenerating, making this a zero-waste
technology with multiple uses.
Once covered with these tiny solar
panels, the bacteria can synthesize food,
fuels, and plastics, all using solar energy.
