Phototrophs, electricity, and the circular economy

Purple photosynthetic bacteria are emerging as both valuable biotechnological tools and important players in various ecosystems. This extended abstract highlights recent research from the Bose lab at Washington University in St. Louis touching on both of these ideas. Specifically, it discusses the use of "electrotrophic" bacteria as biocatalysts for microbial electrosynthesis, and the prevalence of these microbes in ecosystems like marine wetlands.