ETH Zurich researchers engineer bacteria to use methanol efficiently

In Switzerland, researchers at ETH Zurich have engineered bacteria in the laboratory to efficiently use methanol. The metabolism of these bacteria can now be tapped into to produce valuable products currently made by the chemical industry from fossil fuels.

Bacteria that feed on methanol, known as methylotrophs, are at the centre of these efforts. Containing just a single carbon atom, methanol is one of the simplest organic molecules and can be synthesised from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and water. If the energy for this synthesis reaction comes from renewable sources, the methanol is termed “green”.