EAST LANSING, MI – Two unlikely lab-fellows at Michigan State University have teamed up to discover a bacteria that eats a toxic chemical and leaves behind pure gold.

Through their collaboration, which culminated in the art installation, "The Great Work of the Metal Lover," the pair discovered that the bacteria are at least 25 times stronger than previously reported among scientists.

The artwork uses a combination of biotechnology, art and alchemy to turn liquid gold into 24-karat gold in a portable laboratory – producing gold in front of an audience.

"Microbial alchemy is what we're doing – transforming gold from something that has no value into a solid, precious metal that's valuable," Kazem Kashefi, assistant professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, said in a statement.

Kasjefi worked with Adam Brown, associate professor of electronic art and intermedia, and found the metal-tolerant bacteria Cupriavidus metallidurans can grow on massive concentrations of gold chloride – or liquid gold, a toxic chemical compound found in nature, according to a media release.

The bacteria feed on the chemical and leave behind pure 24-karat gold.

That doesn't make the gold-producing project a gold mine, however. The pair said the project would be cost-prohibitive to reproduce on a larger scale, though several viewers of the piece have expressed interest in investing.

Brown said he's long held an interest in extremophile organisms like Cupriavidus metallidurans, which thrive in conditions that would be deadly for most other life forms.

He discovered the work of Kashefi, an expert in the field. Brown was particularly struck by a 2001 paper, which provided evidence for the biomineralization of gold in nature.

After reading his work and working in the microbiologist's lab to learn first-hand the biological processes that produced metals, Brown posed what he called "an art question."

"I said, 'Is it possible to make enough gold to put it into a person's hand?' That was the question – the art question – that fueled the research together," Brown said.

Brown and Kashefi fed the bacteria unprecedented amounts of gold chloride, mimicking the process they believe happens in nature. In about a week, the bacteria transformed the toxins and produced a gold nugget.

Brown said the process echoes alchemy, but noted it doesn't change one compound into another – it extracts the gold from the toxic solution.

It's possible, using tremendous amounts of heat, chemicals, labor and energy, to do the same thing, he said, but the pair discovered that the organism would do all the work on its own.

Brown said the project can help scientists understand how gold and other metals are produced in nature.

"This is neo-alchemy. Every part, every detail of the project is a cross between modern microbiology and alchemy," Brown said. "Science tries to explain the phenomenological world. As an artist, I'm trying to create a phenomenon. Art has the ability to push scientific inquiry."

"The Great Work of the Metal Lover" was selected for exhibition and received an honorable mention at the world-renowned cyber art competition, Prix Ars Electronica, in Austria, where it's on display until Oct. 7.

E-mail Angela Wittrock: awittroc at mlive dot com and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/AngelaWittrock and Facebook, or reach her by phone at 517.219.7073