COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- A U.S. chemical engineer has "tweaked" a strain of E. coli so it produces about 140 times more hydrogen than is produced in naturally occurring processes.

Texas A&M University Professor Thomas Wood said he envisioned the bacteria that are usually associated with food poisoning as a potential source of energy, helping power vehicles and homes.

Currently, most hydrogen is produced by a process known as "cracking water," through which hydrogen is separated from the oxygen. But the process is expensive and requires great amounts of energy. Wood said his work with E. coli might change that.

By selectively deleting six specific genes in E. coli's DNA, Wood enhanced the bacterium's naturally occurring glucose-conversion process on a massive scale.

"These bacteria have 5,000 genes that enable them to survive environmental changes," Wood said. "When we knock things out, the bacteria become less competitive. We haven't given them an ability to do something. They don't gain anything here; they lose. The bacteria that we're making are less competitive and less harmful because of what's been removed."

The study is reported in the journal Microbial Biotechnology.