A team of University of Massachusetts microbiologists led by Derek Lovley published the results of their groundbreaking research in last week’s Science magazine.

Their research could lead to several breakthroughs in technology.

According to a UMass press release, the breakthrough holds the interest of several groups, including interests in industrial and military sectors. Potential scientific developments from Lovley’s team’s research include the decontamination of polluted water and the powering of electronic instruments with marine microbe technology. Another possibility for the research is the development of military equipment with the ability to alert soldiers to the presence of toxins and biological warfare agents in their surrounding area.

The team began by determining the scientific basics of a sediment battery, a battery made up of water, mud, and some sort of anode. Using water and mud from Boston Harbor, masonry jars, electrical wiring, and graphite electrodes, they discovered that there are certain microorganisms that “even using a primitive electrode made from graphite, it is possible to produce enough current to power basic electronic instruments,” Lovley said.

The Lovley team’s breakthrough revolved around the study of a family of energy-harvesting microorganisms called Geobacters. Geobacters grow in environments that lack oxygen by using the iron naturally present in soil instead. Their research proves that the Geobacters can also substitute an electrode for the iron in the soil, making it possible for them to conduct electricity.

“In the mud, a community of microorganisms cooperate to break down larger, more complex organic compounds to acetate,” Lovley said. “Geobacters then transfer electrons from the acetate to the electrode generating the electrical energy.”

The research group also found that some Geobacters that have the ability to take basic carbon-based toxins and turn them into electricity. Lovley sees hope for the research in developing technology that could clean up subterranean environments contaminated with organic matter. This would especially come in handy in cleaning up petroleum.

Cleaning up these toxins could soon be possible.

“Once we know more about the genome of Geobacters, we will be able to manipulate these organisms to make them receptive to a variety of organic or inorganic contaminants,” he said. “Theoretically, when they begin to degrade the contaminant, they will throw electrons on an electrode, and that could set off a light, a sound, or some other form signal.”

That is the area in which the development of military equipment could come into play. “

An understanding of how this phenomenon operates has a number of extremely timely applications,” Lovley said, “Especially in developing technologies to recognize toxins and contaminants.”

The research group was funded entirely by the Office of Naval Research and included one researcher from Naval Research Laboratories, Leonard M. Tender. The rest of the team is UMass-based, made up of leader Lovley, Daniel R. Bond and Dawn E. Holmes.