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Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures.

ABSTRACT: Microbial uptake of free cathodic electrons presents a poorly understood aspect of microbial physiology. Uptake of cathodic electrons is particularly important in microbial electrosynthesis of sustainable fuel and chemical precursors using only CO₂ and electricity as carbon, electron and energy source. Typically, large overpotentials (200 to 400?mV) were reported to be required for cathodic electron uptake during electrosynthesis of, for example, methane and acetate, or low electrosynthesis rates were observed. To address these limitations and to explore conceptual alternatives, we studied defined co-cultures metabolizing cathodic electrons. The Fe(0)-corroding strain IS4 was used to catalyze the electron uptake reaction from the cathode forming molecular hydrogen as intermediate, and Methanococcus maripaludis and Acetobacterium woodii were used as model microorganisms for hydrogenotrophic synthesis of methane and acetate, respectively. The IS4-M. maripaludis co-cultures achieved electromethanogenesis rates of 0.1-0.14??mol?cm^-2?h^-1 at -400?mV vs standard hydrogen electrode and 0.6-0.9??mol?cm^-2?h^-1 at -500?mV. Co-cultures of strain IS4 and A. woodii formed acetate at rates of 0.21-0.23??mol?cm^-2?h^-1 at -400?mV and 0.57-0.74??mol?cm^-2?h^-1 at -500?mV. These data show that defined co-cultures coupling cathodic electron uptake with synthesis reactions via interspecies hydrogen transfer may lay the foundation for an engineering strategy for microbial electrosynthesis.

SUBMITTER: Deutzmann JS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5322301 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures.

Deutzmann Jörg S JS Spormann Alfred M AM

The ISME journal 20161101 3

Microbial uptake of free cathodic electrons presents a poorly understood aspect of microbial physiology. Uptake of cathodic electrons is particularly important in microbial electrosynthesis of sustainable fuel and chemical precursors using only CO<sub>2</sub> and electricity as carbon, electron and energy source. Typically, large overpotentials (200 to 400 mV) were reported to be required for cathodic electron uptake during electrosynthesis of, for example, methane and acetate, or low electrosyn ...[more]

PMID: 27801903

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Project description:BackgroundThe cyanobacteria Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus are responsible for around 10% of global net primary productivity, serving as part of the foundation of marine food webs. Heterotrophic bacteria are often co-isolated with these picocyanobacteria in seawater enrichment cultures that contain no added organic carbon; heterotrophs grow on organic carbon supplied by the photolithoautotrophs. For examining the selective pressures shaping autotroph/heterotroph interactions, we have made use of unialgal enrichment cultures of Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus maintained for hundreds to thousands of generations in the lab. We examine the diversity of heterotrophs in 74 enrichment cultures of these picocyanobacteria obtained from diverse areas of the global oceans.ResultsHeterotroph community composition differed between clades and ecotypes of the autotrophic 'hosts' but there was significant overlap in heterotroph community composition across these cultures. Collectively, the cultures were comprised of many shared taxa, even at the genus level. Yet, observed differences in community composition were associated with time since isolation, location, depth, and methods of isolation. The majority of heterotrophs in the cultures are rare in the global ocean, but enrichment conditions favor the opportunistic outgrowth of these rare bacteria. However, we found a few examples, such as bacteria in the family Rhodobacteraceae, of heterotrophs that were ubiquitous and abundant in cultures and in the global oceans. We found their abundance in the wild is also positively correlated with that of picocyanobacteria.ConclusionsParticular conditions surrounding isolation have a persistent effect on long-term culture composition, likely from bottlenecking and selection that happen during the early stages of enrichment for the picocyanobacteria. We highlight the potential for examining ecologically relevant relationships by identifying patterns of distribution of culture-enriched organisms in the global oceans.

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Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures.

Publications

Enhanced microbial electrosynthesis by using defined co-cultures.

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