'Microbes could eventually replace food systems'

‘It’s like magic’: In world first, Weizmann scientists on path to create food from air

Researchers engineer bacteria that grow fast on diet of CO₂ with eventual aim of developing microbial food products for humans and animals

While a meal produced entirely by microbes might still be years away, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science are working to genetically engineer bacteria to produce food from the air.

Several years ago, the laboratory of Prof. Ron Milo became the first to synthesize a bacterium that grows by “eating” carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, rather than being fed carbohydrates (such as sugars).

In its latest breakthrough, the laboratory has programmed E. coli bacteria to develop specialized “body structures” capable of absorbing much larger quantities of CO₂ with which to grow faster.

The long-term aim is to develop a bacterium that can be fed solely on CO₂ and provide a food source for humans and animals.

The breakthrough was presented this month at the annual Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences conference in Jerusalem by Klil Halevi, a master’s student who is one of five researchers working on the project.

“Our ambitious goal for our microbes is that they carry out a process similar to that undertaken by plants,” said Halevi.

“Plants use water, CO₂, and the energy of the sun to produce carbohydrates with which to build their bodies,” he added. “They are at the bottom of the food chain, providing energy, through carbohydrates, to herbivores, which are eaten by carnivores.”

Halevi noted that agriculture and other land uses, such as grazing, which form the foundation of human food systems, are fragile. They already occupy roughly 45 percent of all arable land outside of ice caps and deserts, and the demand for inputs such as land, water, and fertilizers will only climb as the global population grows, putting further strain on food availability, biodiversity, and nature’s ecological systems.

“Look how easy it is to destroy farmland or disrupt supply chains,” Halevi said, noting that the expansion of farming and livestock over the last century has led to the permanent loss of a third of global forests — crucial tools in the fight against climate change.

While companies such as Remilk and Quorn are already using microbes to produce dairy proteins and meat alternatives, these processes still rely on sugar-based feedstocks to support microbial growth. “It’s still agriculture,” Halevi said.

“While the bacterial strains we have today are not yet ripe for the job, we hope that the genetic changes we are making will eventually allow for the efficient production of microbe-based food using only energy derived from the sun and CO₂. It’s almost like magic.”

The potential appears to be huge. According to Milo Lab calculations, a single dunam (about a quarter of an acre) of land dedicated to generating solar energy for such microbes could produce 10 times as much protein as the same area of land used to grow soybeans.

“Microbes are fascinating because they can produce so many things: protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and more,” Halevi enthused.

Dozens of laboratories worldwide are racing to develop such technologies, using various hosts like yeast, the microscopic fungus Bacillus subtilis (already a staple for producing industrial enzymes like amylase and protease), and E. coli.

“It’s not as if microbes will be producing sandwiches next year,” Halevi quipped. “In theory, microbes could eventually supplement, or even replace, parts of our plant- and animal-based food systems. We are very far from that, but this is science that needs to be invested in. We’re moving fast; consider that it took plant-based agriculture 10,000 years to reach where it is today.”