How bacterial breathing could contribute to sustainable energy and new antibiotics
Inaugural lecture
How do bacteria breathe? This question has been the life’s work of biochemist Lars Jeuken. And it’s surprisingly relevant: research into bacterial respiration is helping drive developments in sustainable energy production and the fight against antibiotic resistance.
Professor of Biophysical Chemistry Lars Jeuken began his career 20 years ago researching how proteins work, driven by a fundamental scientific curiosity. This developed into research with potential applications for a wide range of societal challenges. ‘Whenever I come across something we don’t yet understand, I’m drawn to it’, says Jeuken, who will give his inaugural lecture on 25 September. This is how he ended up working on proteins involved in bacterial breathing, or more precisely, respiration (see below).
What is respiration?
In biochemistry, respiration refers to a series of reactions through which cells extract energy from food. Humans need oxygen for this process, but many bacteria can use other molecules instead.
New antibiotics
One of the societal challenges Jeuken is working on is antibiotic resistance. Together with colleagues, he is investigating whether it is possible to disrupt bacterial respiration, causing the bacteria to die. This would offer a way to treat infectious diseases, for example. ‘We focus on small parts of the respiration process and investigate how we can stop them from functioning. This knowledge could ultimately be used by other researchers and companies, and hopefully contribute to new medicines in the future.’
Sustainable energy
Jeuken is also exploring a completely different application of bacterial respiration: sustainable energy technologies. Together with colleagues, he is investigating how sunlight can be converted into fuels such as hydrogen.
He draws inspiration from plants that use sunlight to produce energy, a process known as photosynthesis. The different stages of photosynthesis take place in separate locations within plant chloroplasts. The researchers have used that design as the basis for their artificial system.
In their system, multiple respiratory proteins work together with synthetic nanoparticles that have similar properties to the materials used in solar panels. The proteins produce hydrogen and separate it from the nanoparticles into distinct microscopic compartments, just as happens in the chloroplasts. ‘When we expose these components to light, they produce hydrogen. The yield is still really low, but I hope these experiments will contribute to the efficient conversion of sunlight into sustainable fuels.’
Led by curiosity
Curiosity is Jeuken’s main motivation. And that doesn’t just apply to major scientific and societal challenges. ‘If I come across something in the literature and it doesn’t seem quite right, I want to investigate it. And if a student comes to me with a question and we find the answer together, it makes me really happy. Even if the solution doesn’t change the field, it keeps the research interesting from day to day.’
Knowledge sharing
Alongside research, Jeuken thinks it’s important to teach students and make science accessible to the general public, and he enjoys doing both. ‘If you ask me why I get up in the morning, those are two of the reasons.’ He contributes to Junior Science Lab, Meet the Professor and the Science Market. ‘Sharing knowledge is one of the best things about working at a university.’
Inaugural lecture
Lars Jeuken will give his inaugural lecture ‘On the hunt for energy: Bacteria out of breath’ in the Academy Building in Leiden on 25 September.