Project description:Electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) receive considerable attention for their utility in bioelectrochemical processes. Although electrode potentials are known to affect the metabolic activity of EAB, it is unclear whether EAB are able to sense and respond to electrode potentials. Here, we show that, in the presence of a high-potential electrode, a model EAB Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 can utilize NADH-dependent catabolic pathways and a background formate-dependent pathway to achieve high growth yield. We also show that an Arc regulatory system is involved in sensing electrode potentials and regulating the expression of catabolic genes, including those for NADH dehydrogenase. We suggest that these findings may facilitate the use of EAB in biotechnological processes and offer the molecular bases for their ecological strategies in natural habitats.
Project description:. In this study we show successful use of SWATH-MS for quantitative proteomic analysis of a microbial electrochemically active biofilm. Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 was grown on carbon cloth electrodes under continuous anodic electrochemical polarizations in a bioelectrochemical system. Using lactate as the electron donor, anodes serving as terminal microbial electron acceptors were operated at three different electrode potentials (+0.71V, +0.21V & -0.19V vs. SHE) and the development of catalytic activity was monitored by measuring the current traces over time. Once maximum current was reached (usually within 21-29 hours) the electrochemical systems were shut off and biofilm proteins were extracted from the electrodes for proteomic assessment.
Project description:Electrochemically active bacteria (EAB) are capable of electrochemical interactions with electrodes via extracellular electron transfer (EET) pathways and serve as essential components in bioelectrochemical systems. Previous studies have suggested that EAB, such as Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, use cyclic AMP (cAMP) receptor proteins for coordinately regulating the expression of catabolic and EET-related genes, allowing us to hypothesize that the intracellular cAMP concentration is an important factor determining electrochemical activities of EAB. The present study constructed an MR-1 mutant, cyaC-OE that overexpressed cyaC, a gene encoding a membrane-bound class III adenylate cyclase, and examined its electrochemical and transcriptomic characteristics. We show that intracellular cAMP concentration in cyaC-OE is more than double that in wild-type MR-1, and cya-OE generates approximately two-fold higher current in BES than the wild type. In addition, the expression of genes involved in EET and anaerobic carbon catabolism is up-regulated in cya-OE as compared to that in the wild type. These results suggest that enhancement of the intracellular cAMP level is a promising approach for constructing an EAB with high catabolic and electrochemical activities.
Project description:BACKGROUND: Although solid surface-associated biofilm development of S. oneidensis has been extensively studied in recent years, pellicles formed at the air-liquid interface are largely overlooked. The goal of this work was to understand basic requirements and mechanism of pellicle formation in S. oneidensis. RESULTS: We demonstrated that pellicle formation can be completed when oxygen and certain cations were present. Ca(II), Mn(II), Cu(II), and Zn(II) were essential for the process evidenced by fully rescuing pellicle formation of S. oneidensis from the EDTA treatment while Mg (II), Fe(II), and Fe(III) were much less effective. Proteins rather than DNA were crucial in pellicle formation and the major exopolysaccharides may be rich in mannose. Mutational analysis revealed that flagella were not required for pellicle formation but flagellum-less mutants delayed pellicle development substantially, likely due to reduced growth in static media. The analysis also demonstrated that AggA type I secretion system was essential in formation of pellicles but not of solid surface-associated biofilms in S. oneidensis. CONCLUSION: This systematic characterization of pellicle formation shed lights on our understanding of biofilm formation in S. oneidensis and indicated that the pellicle may serve as a good research model for studying bacterial communities.
Project description:Biofilms, or surface-attached microbial communities, are both ubiquitous and resilient in the environment. Although much is known about how biofilms form, develop, and detach, very little is understood about how these events are related to metabolism and its dynamics. It is commonly thought that large subpopulations of cells within biofilms are not actively producing proteins or generating energy and are therefore dead. An alternative hypothesis is that within the growth-inactive domains of biofilms, significant populations of living cells persist and retain the capacity to dynamically regulate their metabolism. To test this, we employed unstable fluorescent reporters to measure growth activity and protein synthesis in vivo over the course of biofilm development and created a quantitative routine to compare domains of activity in independently grown biofilms. Here we report that Shewanella oneidensis biofilm structures reproducibly stratify with respect to growth activity and metabolism as a function of size. Within domains of growth-inactive cells, genes typically upregulated under anaerobic conditions are expressed well after growth has ceased. These findings reveal that, far from being dead, the majority of cells in mature S. oneidensis biofilms have actively turned-on metabolic programs appropriate to their local microenvironment and developmental stage.
Project description:To investigate how cell elongation impacts extracellular electron transfer (EET) of electroactive microorganisms (EAMs), the division of model EAM Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 was engineered by reducing the formation of cell divisome. Specially, by blocking the translation of division proteins via anti-sense RNAs or expressing division inhibitors, the cellular length and output power density were all increased. Electrophysiological and transcriptomic results synergistically revealed that the programmed cell elongation reinforced EET by enhancing NADH oxidation, inner-membrane quinone pool, and abundance of c-type cytochromes. Moreover, cell elongation enhanced hydrophobicity due to decreased cell-surface polysaccharide, thus facilitated initial surface adhesion stage in biofilm formation. The output current and power density all increased in positive correction with cellular length. However, inhibition of cell division reduced cell growth, which was then restored by quorum sensing-based dynamic regulation of cell growth and elongation phases. The QS-regulated elongated strain thus enabled a cell length of 143.6 ± 40.3 µm (72.6-fold of that of S. oneidensis MR-1), which resulted in an output power density of 248.0 ± 10.6 mW m-2 (3.41-fold of that of S. oneidensis MR-1) and exhibited superior potential for pollutant treatment. Engineering cellular length paves an innovate avenue for enhancing the EET of EAMs.
Project description:Bioelectrochemical systems employing mixed microbial communities as biocatalysts are gaining importance as potential renewable energy, bioremediation, or biosensing devices. While we are beginning to understand how individual microorganism species interact with an electrode as electron donor, not much is known about the interactions between different microbial species in a community. Here, we compare the bioelectrochemical performance of Shewanella oneidensis in a pure-culture and in a co-culture with the homolactic acid fermenter Lactococcus lactis. While S. oneidensis alone can only use lactate as electron donor for current production, the co-culture is able to convert glucose into current with a similar coulombic efficiency of approximately 17%, respectively. With (electro)-chemical analysis and transcription profiling, we found that the BES performance and S. oneidensis physiology were not significantly different whether grown as a pure- or co-culture. These co-culture experiments represent a first step in understanding microbial interactions in BES communities with the goal to design complex microbial communities, which specifically convert target substrates into electricity. Further, for the first time, we elucidated S. oneidensis gene expression with an electrode as the only electron acceptor. The expression pattern confirms many previous studies regarding the enzymatic requirements for electrode respiration, and it generates new hypotheses on the functions of proteins, which are so far not known to be involved in electrode respiration.
Project description:Shewanella oneidensis is a highly motile organism by virtue of a polar, glycosylated flagellum composed of flagellins FlaA and FlaB. In this study, the functional flagellin FlaB was isolated and analyzed with nano-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (MS) and tandem MS. In combination with the mutational analysis, we propose that the FlaB flagellin protein from S. oneidensis is modified at five serine residues with a series of novel O-linked posttranslational modifications (PTMs) that differ from each other by 14 Da. These PTMs are composed in part of a 274-Da sugar residue that bears a resemblance to the nonulosonic acids. The remainder appears to be composed of a second residue whose mass varies by 14 Da depending on the PTM. Further investigation revealed that synthesis of the glycans initiates with PseB and PseC, the first two enzymes of the Pse pathway. In addition, a number of lysine residues are found to be methylated by SO4160, an analogue of the lysine methyltransferase of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
Project description:Shewanella oneidensis couples oxidation of lactate to respiration of many substrates. Here we report that llpR (L-lactate-positive regulator, SO_3460) encodes a positive regulator of L-lactate utilization distinct from previously studied regulators. We also demonstrate D-lactate inhibition of L-lactate utilization in S. oneidensis, resulting in preferential utilization of the D isomer.