In a new paper published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Joshua Lawrence and colleagues from the research groups of Chris Howe (Biochemistry) and Jenny Zhang (Chemistry) present a novel method for investigating complex bioelectrical pathways using electrodes.
Electron transfer reactions are fundamental to life, powering essential processes such as photosynthesis and respiration that enable cells to harness energy. Researchers in the field of bioelectrochemistry use electrodes to study these reactions in isolated proteins, although this approach fails to replicate the environment in living cells where 10s-100s of these proteins interact with one another in a complex network of electron transfer.
This study addresses that challenge by interfacing specially designed electrodes with the membranes of photosynthetic bacteria. This allows for sensitive, real-time measurements of electron transfer activity within these native biological systems. By employing a range of mutants, chemical inhibitors, and experimental conditions, the researchers demonstrate how their technique can probe electron transfer in these membranes from the scale of individual proteins to entire pathways (including photosynthesis and respiration). They also demonstrate how the manipulation of these bioelectrical networks opens new possibilities for harnessing solar energy to generate electricity and drive chemical synthesis.