Project description:The ability of Geobacter species to readily donate electrons to extracellular electron acceptors makes the study of their physiology not only important for the understanding of environmental processes, but also for industrial applications such as bioelectronics and electrosynthesis. Studies in G. sulfurreducens have shown that outer surface components, such as c-type cytochromes and conductive type IV pili play an important role in direct electron transfer to extracellular electron acceptors such as Fe(III) oxides and electrodes. However, many of these thoroughly studied outer surface components, including c-type cytochromes, are not well conserved among Geobacter species. In order to better understand which components are involved in extracellular electron transfer in Geobacter species other than G. sulfurreducens, studies were conducted with its close relative G. metallireducens. Whole-genome microarray analysis revealed that 23 of the 91 putative c-type cytochromes encoded in the G. metallireducens genome were upregulated at least 2-fold in cells grown with Fe(III) oxide compared to cells in which Fe(III) citrate was provided as the terminal electron acceptor. Protein identification with liquid-chromatography/mass spectrometry detected 6 c-type cytochromes that were more abundant in the outer surface cell fraction of cells that were grown with Fe(III) oxide as the terminal electron acceptor compared to cells grown on Fe(III) citrate. 22 genes encoding c-type cytochromes were chosen for gene deletion. Deletion of 6 genes encoding for c-type cytochromes, a gene encoding for a lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis-associated protein, and a gene encoding for a NHL- repeat containing protein inhibited growth when Fe(III) oxide was provided as the electron acceptor. This study suggests that there are different roads for extracellular electron transfer in Geobacteraceae since homologous c-type cytochromes have different functions from one species to the other, and novel components not previously found to be essential for extracellular electron transfer were identified.

Project description:The ability of Geobacter species to readily donate electrons to extracellular electron acceptors makes the study of their physiology not only important for the understanding of environmental processes, but also for industrial applications such as bioelectronics and electrosynthesis. Studies in G. sulfurreducens have shown that outer surface components, such as c-type cytochromes and conductive type IV pili play an important role in direct electron transfer to extracellular electron acceptors such as Fe(III) oxides and electrodes. However, many of these thoroughly studied outer surface components, including c-type cytochromes, are not well conserved among Geobacter species. In order to better understand which components are involved in extracellular electron transfer in Geobacter species other than G. sulfurreducens, studies were conducted with its close relative G. metallireducens. Whole-genome microarray analysis revealed that 23 of the 91 putative c-type cytochromes encoded in the G. metallireducens genome were upregulated at least 2-fold in cells grown with Fe(III) oxide compared to cells in which Fe(III) citrate was provided as the terminal electron acceptor. Protein identification with liquid-chromatography/mass spectrometry detected 6 c-type cytochromes that were more abundant in the outer surface cell fraction of cells that were grown with Fe(III) oxide as the terminal electron acceptor compared to cells grown on Fe(III) citrate. 22 genes encoding c-type cytochromes were chosen for gene deletion. Deletion of 6 genes encoding for c-type cytochromes, a gene encoding for a lipopolysaccharide biosynthesis-associated protein, and a gene encoding for a NHL- repeat containing protein inhibited growth when Fe(III) oxide was provided as the electron acceptor. This study suggests that there are different roads for extracellular electron transfer in Geobacteraceae since homologous c-type cytochromes have different functions from one species to the other, and novel components not previously found to be essential for extracellular electron transfer were identified. An eight-chip study using total RNA recovered from four separate cultures of Geobacter metallireducens GS-15 grown with acetate (10mM)-Fe(III) oxide (100 mmol l-1) (experimental condition) or with acetate (10 mM)-Fe(III) citrate (55mM) (control condition) during exponential growth. Each chip measures the expression level of 3,627 genes from Geobacter metallireducens GS-15 with nine 45-60-mer probe pairs (PM/MM) per gene, with three-fold technical redundancy.

Project description:The conductive pili of Geobacter sulfurreducens are essential for optimal extracellular electron transfer to Fe(III) and long-range electron transport through current-producing biofilms. The KN400 strain of G. sulfurreducens reduces poorly crystalline Fe(III) oxide more rapidly than the more extensively studied DL-1 strain. Deletion of the gene for PilA, the structural pilin protein, in strain KN400 inhibited Fe(III) oxide reduction. However, slow rates of Fe(III) reduction were detected after extended (> 30 days) incubation in the presence of Fe(III) oxide. After seven consecutive transfers the PilA-deficient strain adapted to reduce Fe(III) oxide as fast as the wild type. Microarray, proteomic, and gene deletion studies indicated that this adaptation was associated with greater production of the c-type cytochrome PgcA, which was released into the culture medium. It is proposed that the extracellular cytochrome acts as an electron shuttle, promoting electron transfer from the outer cell surface to Fe(III) oxides. The adapted PilA-deficient strain competed well with the wild-type strain when both were grown together on Fe(III) oxide. However, when 50% of the culture medium was replaced with fresh medium every three days, the wild-type strain out-competed the adapted strain. A possible explanation for this is that the necessity to produce additional PgcA, to replace the PgcA continually removed, put the adapted strain at a competitive disadvantage, similar to the apparent selection against electron-shuttling producing Fe(III) reducers in most soils and sediments. Despite increased extracellular cytochrome production, the adapted PilA-deficient strain produced low levels of current; consistent with the concept that long-range electron transport through G. sulfurreducens biofilms cannot be achieved without PilA-pili. An eight-chip study using total RNA recovered from four separate cultures of Geobacter sulfurreducens JS-1 (experimental condition) or Geobacter sulfurreducens KN400 (control condition) grown with acetate (10mM)-Fe(III) oxide (100 mmol l-1) exponential growth. Each chip measures the expression level of 3,328 genes from Geobacter sulfurreducens KN400 with nine 45-60-mer probe pairs (PM/MM) per gene, with three-fold technical redundancy.

Project description:Mahadevan2006 - Genome-scale metabolic network of Geobacter sulfurreducens (iRM588) This model is described in the article: Characterization of metabolism in the Fe(III)-reducing organism Geobacter sulfurreducens by constraint-based modeling. Mahadevan R, Bond DR, Butler JE, Esteve-Nuñez A, Coppi MV, Palsson BO, Schilling CH, Lovley DR. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2006 Feb; 72(2): 1558-1568 Abstract: Geobacter sulfurreducens is a well-studied representative of the Geobacteraceae, which play a critical role in organic matter oxidation coupled to Fe(III) reduction, bioremediation of groundwater contaminated with organics or metals, and electricity production from waste organic matter. In order to investigate G. sulfurreducens central metabolism and electron transport, a metabolic model which integrated genome-based predictions with available genetic and physiological data was developed via the constraint-based modeling approach. Evaluation of the rates of proton production and consumption in the extracellular and cytoplasmic compartments revealed that energy conservation with extracellular electron acceptors, such as Fe(III), was limited relative to that associated with intracellular acceptors. This limitation was attributed to lack of cytoplasmic proton consumption during reduction of extracellular electron acceptors. Model-based analysis of the metabolic cost of producing an extracellular electron shuttle to promote electron transfer to insoluble Fe(III) oxides demonstrated why Geobacter species, which do not produce shuttles, have an energetic advantage over shuttle-producing Fe(III) reducers in subsurface environments. In silico analysis also revealed that the metabolic network of G. sulfurreducens could synthesize amino acids more efficiently than that of Escherichia coli due to the presence of a pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductase, which catalyzes synthesis of pyruvate from acetate and carbon dioxide in a single step. In silico phenotypic analysis of deletion mutants demonstrated the capability of the model to explore the flexibility of G. sulfurreducens central metabolism and correctly predict mutant phenotypes. These results demonstrate that iterative modeling coupled with experimentation can accelerate the understanding of the physiology of poorly studied but environmentally relevant organisms and may help optimize their practical applications. This model is hosted on BioModels Database and identified by: MODEL1507180000. To cite BioModels Database, please use: BioModels Database: An enhanced, curated and annotated resource for published quantitative kinetic models. To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or neighbouring rights to this encoded model have been dedicated to the public domain worldwide. Please refer to CC0 Public Domain Dedication for more information.

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Dataset Information

Feist2014 - Geobacter metallireducens GS-15 metabolism

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Constraint-based modeling of carbon fixation and the energetics of electron transfer in Geobacter metallireducens.

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