The researchers mapped the metabolism of Nostoc, a bacterium that fixes nitrogen and, in doing so, releases hydrogen that can potentially be used as fuel.

"The research uncovered a previously unknown link between the energy machinery of the Nostoc bacterium and its core nitrogen metabolism," said Guido Sanguinetti, a Sheffield lecturer who led the study. "It will certainly be some time before a pool of bacteria powers your car, but this research is yet another small step towards sustainable fuels.

"The next step for us will be further investigation into hydrogen production, as well as constructing more mathematical models capable of integrating various sources of biological data."

The research was the result of a collaboration of computer scientists and chemical engineers in a new discipline called synthetic biology, which strives to understand which bacterial metabolism pathways are responsible for important functions, and then genetically engineer organisms to perform those functions more effectively.

The findings appear in the journal Bioinformatics.