The following is an edited excerpt.
It looks like humans aren’t the only ones who need a daily caffeine fix.
A team of microbiologists at the University of Texas, Austin, has genetically engineered bacteria to live solely on caffeine, creating microbial caffeine fiends for the first time ever.
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In 2011, researchers found a soil bacterium Pseudomonas putida CBB5 living in a flowerbed at the University of Iowa capable of metabolizing caffeine. Now, microbiologist Jeffrey Barrick and his colleagues have transplanted the genetic “gear” that metabolizes caffeine into E. Coli—which grows quickly and is easier to handle.
Read the full article here: Caffeine-Addicted Bacteria, Created In Lab, May Help Combat Water Pollution
