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Two bacteria join forces to turn chemical signals into electricity, opening up low-cost sensing options

Phys · · 705 words · By Rachel Leeson

Researchers developed a flexible bioelectrical sensor system, e-COSENS, using two types of bacteria to detect various substances. This system works by having one bacterium generate a signal molecule, quinone, in the presence of a target analyte, which a second bacterium then uses to produce an electrical signal measurable by an electrode. The development allows for potential low-cost, field-ready diagnostics across different environments.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bacteria-chemical-electricity-options.html

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Propaganda Score
confidence: 100%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

13 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 6
schedule Pending 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
info Single Source 1
verified Verified By Reference 1
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“Rice University professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin's group, working in collaboration with researchers from Tufts University and Baylor College of Medicine, recently developed a flexible bioelectrical sensor system called electroactive co-culture sensing system (e-COSENS).”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results report that Rice University professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin's group, collaborating with Tufts University and Baylor College of Medicine, developed the flexible bioelectrical sensor system e-COSENS.
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web search NEUTRAL — 23 hours ago · Rice professor Caroline Ajo-Franklin’s group, working in collaboration with researchers from Tufts University and Baylor College of Medicine, recently developed a flexible bioelectrical…
https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/engineered-dual-bacterial-se…
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web search NEUTRAL — In our new preprint, we introduce e-COSENS (electroactive co-culture sensing system): a plug-and-play bioelectronic sensor platform that reports analytes as electrical signals instead of fluorescence.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7377097…
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web search NEUTRAL — The long-term objectives of our research are to develop predictive understanding of S-layer protein nucleation and growth, so as to advance basic knowledge of the dynamics of coupled nanoscale phase s…
https://cafgroup.lbl.gov/research
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“The study is published in Nature Biotechnology.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The web search results mention the preprint detailing e-COSENS, but none of the provided evidence explicitly state that the study was published in *Nature Biotechnology*. The evidence points to a preprint release.
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web search NEUTRAL — We present the electroactive co-culture sensing system (e−COSENS), a plug-and-play system for whole-cell bioelectronic sensor development.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-026-03075-7
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web search NEUTRAL — Here, we present the electroactive co-culture sensing system (e-COSENS), a plug-and-play platform for bioelectronic sensor development. This system comprises a 'sender' bacterium that produces electro…
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.24.678173v1
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web search NEUTRAL — In our new preprint, we introduce e-COSENS (electroactive co-culture sensing system): a plug-and-play bioelectronic sensor platform that reports analytes as electrical signals instead of fluorescence.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7377097…
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“e-COSENS is the first system that allows us to easily engineer bioelectronic sensors in a modular manner, like assembling Legos, allowing us to potentially use them to monitor everything from human health to environmental contaminants.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that e-COSENS is a modular system for monitoring health and environmental contaminants is directly supported by web search results describing it as a 'plug-and-play bioelectronic sensor platform' for monitoring both 'environmental and health monitoring' and 'environmental contaminates.'
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web search NEUTRAL — Whole-cell bioelectronic sensors are particularly well-suited for environmental and health monitoring as they can be integrated into compact electronic devices for field deployment over extended ...
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41587-026-03075-7
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web search NEUTRAL — "But e-COSENS is the first system that allows us to easily engineer bioelectronic sensors in a modular manner, like assembling Legos, allowing us to potentially use them to monitor everything from hum…
https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/engineered-dual-bacterial-se…
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web search NEUTRAL — Human disruption of ecosystems poses a significant threat to global health, driving the need for low-cost, low-power, and easily deployable sensors for environmental and health monitoring. Microbial b…
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.09.24.678173v1
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“E. coli, for example, is simple to engineer but doesn't produce electricity.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia entries confirm that *E. coli* is a widely studied and easy-to-engineer organism, but the evidence does not state that it inherently 'doesn't produce electricity' in all contexts; rather, it contrasts it with the system's goal, but the general description of its ease of engineering is confirmed.
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web search NEUTRAL — E. coli can live on a wide variety of substrates and uses mixed acid fermentation in anaerobic conditions, producing lactate, succinate, ethanol, acetate, and carbon dioxide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli
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web search NEUTRAL — ESKAPE pathogens don’t include E. coli. Model organisms are not perfect, and E. coli may not be an effective species to use to study many human bacterial infections. Focusing research on this microbe …
https://theconversation.com/e-coli-is-one-of-the-most-widely…
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web search NEUTRAL — E. coli is a top choice for genetic engineering. It’s easy to work with and has simple genetics. This makes it perfect for cloning and protein production. Protein Expression Systems. E. coli is great …
https://blog.ajsrp.com/en/gram-stained-e-coli-observing-gram…
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“L. plantarum, a common food bacterium, produces electricity using a molecule called quinone but is incredibly difficult to engineer.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results state that *L. plantarum* is a common food bacterium that produces electricity using quinone, and that it is 'incredibly difficult to engineer.'
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web search NEUTRAL — L. plantarum, a common food bacterium, produces electricity using a molecule called quinone but is incredibly difficult to engineer. "Instead of forcing a single bacterium to do everything, we split t…
https://news.rice.edu/news/2026/engineered-dual-bacterial-se…
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web search NEUTRAL — L. plantarum, a common food bacterium, produces electricity using a molecule called quinone but is incredibly difficult to engineer.
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-bacteria-chemical-electricity-…
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web search NEUTRAL — Although DHNA and FeAC induced L. plantarum EET, this metabolism was still dependent on direct access to environmental electron shuttles. To determine whether quinone-producing food fermentation bacte…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10746273/
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“The key to e-COSENS is quinone, the molecule L. plantarum uses to create electricity.”
CORROBORATED
Two distinct web search results explicitly state that 'The key to e-COSENS is quinone, the molecule L. plantarum uses to create electricity.'
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web search NEUTRAL — Lactiplantibacillus plantarum is a widespread member of the genus Lactiplantibacillus and commonly found in many fermented food products as well as anaerobic plant matter. L. plantarum was first isola…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactiplantibacillus_plantarum
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web search NEUTRAL — The key to e-COSENS is quinone, the molecule L. plantarum uses to create electricity. L. plantarum cannot create its own quinone; it has to be provided by the environment. This means the quinone can b…
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1124715
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web search NEUTRAL — Of particular interest is e−COSENS’s ability to generate electrical energy during sensing, which can enable self-powered bioelectronic sensors ideal for long-term and remote monitoring65.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12485802/
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“L. plantarum cannot create its own quinone; it has to be provided by the environment.”
CORROBORATED
Two separate web search results discuss the environmental dependence of quinone metabolism in *L. plantarum*, noting its adaptation to 'exogenous environmental quinones' and the need for environmental quinones.
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web search NEUTRAL — Our results reveal how L. plantarum EET metabolism is adapted for exogenous environmental quinones and that L. plantarum engages in quinone cross-feeding with other food fermentation bacteria.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10746273/
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web search NEUTRAL — Dec 19, 2022 · We assert that multiple EET routes have been maintained by L. plantarum to support survival in diverse environments, and which route is preferred is dependent on the availability of red…
https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.01313-22
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web search NEUTRAL — Evidence of quinone cross-feeding as a key ecological feature of anaerobic microbial habitats is provided by L. plantarum, a model fermentative lactic acid bacteria species abundant in human, animal, …
https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/Lactiplantibacillus-pl…
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“The researchers revealed that they could easily manipulate bacteria like E. coli, a bioengineering workhorse, to make quinone only in the presence of a specific substance called an analyte.”
CORROBORATED
A specific web search result directly quotes that 'The researchers revealed that they could easily manipulate bacteria like E. coli... to make quinone only in the presence of a specific substance called an analyte.'
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web search NEUTRAL — The ability of three naturally occurring analogues of ubiquinone to function in aerobic respiration in Escherichia coli has been studied.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/195601/
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web search NEUTRAL — Getting E. coli to produce new antibiotics has been something of a holy grail for researchers in the field. That's because E. coli grows rapidly, which speeds experimental steps and aids efforts to de…
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20150530/UB-researchers-su…
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web search NEUTRAL — The researchers revealed that they could easily manipulate bacteria like E. coli, a bioengineering workhorse, to make quinone only in the presence of a specific substance called an analyte.
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1124715
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“Once E. coli released the quinone in the environment, L. plantarum would use it to send an electrical signal, which could be read by an electrode—in this case, a current meter.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
Although the overall mechanism (E. coli releasing quinone used by L. plantarum) is implied by other claims, no single source was found in the evidence to confirm the specific sequence: 'Once E. coli released the quinone in the environment, L. plantarum would use it to send an electrical signal, which could be read by an electrode—in this case, a current meter.' The evidence is fragmented across multiple steps.
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“They used E. coli to sense heavy metal ions in bayou water and inflammation markers in artificial saliva, and L. lactis, another quinone-producing bacterium, to sense antimicrobial peptides in human fecal-derived samples provided by Baylor and an antibiotic in milk from the grocery store.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
While the system was tested for various analytes (heavy metals, inflammation markers, etc.), no single source provided in the evidence details the specific combination of bacteria (*E. coli* vs *L. lactis*) and the specific matrices tested (bayou water, artificial saliva, fecal samples, milk) as listed in the claim.
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“Within a few hours, all four current meters showed an electrical charge, revealing the bacteria were responding to the analytes—some in as few as 20 minutes.”
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“Their collaborators at Tufts had a solution: a compact electronic disk roughly the size of a quarter which can be paired with commercially available digital multimeters.”
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“Siliang Li et al, Synthetic microbial co-cultures for modular bioelectronic sensing in diverse environments, Nature Biotechnology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41587-026-03075-7”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.