Cable bacteria down under

Cable bacteria down under

Originally we discovered the cable bacteria at various places in the North Sea. But recently we’ve expanded our horizons and we’ve been tracking cable bacteria across the world. In collaboration with an Australian research team (PI Perran Cook at Monash University, Melboune, Australia) we have been able to demonstrate the presence and activity of cable bacteria in the Yarra estuary, that is, the river that runs through Melbourne. PhD student Laurine Burdorf happily volunteered to fly over to Melbourne and help the Australian team identifying the electrogenic cable bacteria. The discovery clearly captured the attention of the Aussies, as it made the newspaper (you can read the story here). In addition to Australia, we have recently found cable bacteria in Nuuk (Greenland) and Long Island (New York).

Professor at the University of Antwerp