scholarly journals Necessity of electrically conductive pili for methanogenesis with magnetite stimulation

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oumei Wang ◽  
Shiling Zheng ◽  
Bingchen Wang ◽  
Wenjing Wang ◽  
Fanghua Liu
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Ethanol Metabolism ◽  
Electrically Conductive ◽  
Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Transmission Electron ◽  
Anaerobic Soils ◽  
Soils And Sediments ◽  
Stimulation Of

Background Magnetite-mediated direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between Geobacter and Methanosarcina species is increasingly being invoked to explain magnetite stimulation of methane production in anaerobic soils and sediments. Although magnetite-mediated DIET has been documented in defined co-cultures reducing fumarate or nitrate as the electron acceptor, the effects of magnetite have only been inferred in methanogenic systems. Methods Concentrations of methane and organic acid were analysed with a gas chromatograph and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. The concentration of HCl-extractable Fe(II) was determined by the ferrozine method. The association of the defined co-cultures of G. metallireducens and M. barkeri with magnetite was observed with transmission electron micrographs. Results Magnetite stimulated ethanol metabolism and methane production in defined co-cultures of G. metallireducens and M. barkeri; however, magnetite did not promote methane production in co-cultures initiated with a culture of G. metallireducens that could not produce electrically conductive pili (e-pili), unlike the conductive carbon materials that facilitate DIET in the absence of e-pili. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that G. metallireducens and M. barkeri were closely associated when magnetite was present, as previously observed in G. metallireducens/G. sulfurreducens co-cultures. These results show that magnetite can promote DIET between Geobacter and Methanosarcina species, but not as a substitute for e-pili, and probably functions to facilitate electron transfer from the e-pili to Methanosarcina. Conclusion In summary, the e-pili are necessary for the stimulation of not only G. metallireducens/G. sulfurreducens, but also methanogenic G. metallireducens/M. barkeri co-cultures with magnetite.

scholarly journals Potential for Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer in Methanogenic Wastewater Digester Aggregates

mBio ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Masahiko Morita ◽  
Nikhil S. Malvankar ◽  
Ashley E. Franks ◽  
Zarath M. Summers ◽  
Ludovic Giloteaux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Geobacter Sulfurreducens ◽  
Anaerobic Sludge ◽  
Rrna Gene ◽  
Electrically Conductive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Anaerobic Soils

ABSTRACTMechanisms for electron transfer within microbial aggregates derived from an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor converting brewery waste to methane were investigated in order to better understand the function of methanogenic consortia. The aggregates were electrically conductive, with conductivities 3-fold higher than the conductivities previously reported for dual-species aggregates ofGeobacterspecies in which the two species appeared to exchange electrons via interspecies electron transfer. The temperature dependence response of the aggregate conductance was characteristic of the organic metallic-like conductance previously described for the conductive pili ofGeobacter sulfurreducensand was inconsistent with electron conduction through minerals. Studies in which aggregates were incubated with high concentrations of potential electron donors demonstrated that the aggregates had no significant capacity for conversion of hydrogen to methane. The aggregates converted formate to methane but at rates too low to account for the rates at which that the aggregates syntrophically metabolized ethanol, an important component of the reactor influent.Geobacterspecies comprised 25% of 16S rRNA gene sequences recovered from the aggregates, suggesting thatGeobacterspecies may have contributed to some but probably not all of the aggregate conductivity. Microorganisms most closely related to the acetate-utilizingMethanosaeta conciliiaccounted for more than 90% of the sequences that could be assigned to methane producers, consistent with the poor capacity for hydrogen and formate utilization. These results demonstrate for the first time that methanogenic wastewater aggregates can be electrically conductive and suggest that direct interspecies electron transfer could be an important mechanism for electron exchange in some methanogenic systems.IMPORTANCEThe conversion of waste organic matter to methane is an important bioenergy strategy, and a similar microbial metabolism of complex organic matter in anaerobic soils and sediments plays an important role in the global carbon cycle. Studies with laboratory cultures have demonstrated that hydrogen or formate can serve as an electron shuttle between the microorganisms degrading organic compounds and methanogens. However, the importance of hydrogen and formate as intermediates in the conversion of organic matter to methane in natural communities is less clear. The possibility that microorganisms within some natural methanogenic aggregates may directly exchange electrons, rather than producing hydrogen or formate as an intermediary electron carrier, is a significant paradigm shift with implications for the modeling and design of anaerobic wastewater reactors and for understanding how methanogenic communities will respond to environmental perturbations.

Polarized electrode enhances biological direct interspecies electron transfer for methane production in upflow anaerobic bioelectrochemical reactor

Chemosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 204 ◽  
pp. 186-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qing Feng ◽  
Young-Chae Song ◽  
Kyuseon Yoo ◽  
Nanthakumar Kuppanan ◽  
Sanjukta Subudhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Methane Production ◽  
Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Bioelectrochemical Reactor

scholarly journals Mechanisms for Electron Uptake by Methanosarcina acetivorans During Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn Holmes ◽  
Jinjie Zhou ◽  
Toshiyuki Ueki ◽  
Trevor Woodard ◽  
Derek Lovley
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Dioxide ◽  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Outer Surface ◽  
Expression Patterns ◽  
Amino Acid Content ◽  
Carbon Dioxide Reduction ◽  
Methanosarcina Acetivorans ◽  
Electrically Conductive ◽  
Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Interspecies Electron Transfer

Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) between bacteria and methanogenic archaea appears to be an important syntrophy in both natural and engineered methanogenic environments. However, the electrical connections on the outer surface of methanogens and the subsequent processing of electrons for carbon dioxide reduction to methane are poorly understood. Here we report that the genetically tractable methanogen Methanosarcina acetivorans can grow via DIET in co-culture with Geobacter metallireducens serving as the electron-donating partner. Comparison of gene expression patterns in M. acetivorans grown in co-culture versus pure culture growth on acetate revealed that transcripts for the outer-surface, multi-heme, c-type cytochrome MmcA were higher during DIET-based growth. Deletion of mmcA inhibited DIET. The high aromatic amino acid content of M. acetivorans archaellins suggests that they might assemble into electrically conductive archaella. A mutant that could not express archaella was deficient in DIET. However, this mutant grew in DIET-based co-culture as well as the archaella-expressing parental strain in the presence of granular activated carbon, which was previously shown to serve as a substitute for electrically conductive pili as a conduit for long-range interspecies electron transfer in other DIET-based co-cultures. Transcriptomic data suggesting that the membrane-bound Rnf, Fpo, and HdrED complexes also play a role in DIET were incorporated into a charge-balanced model illustrating how electrons entering the cell through MmcA can yield energy to support growth from carbon dioxide reduction. The results are the first genetics-based functional demonstration of likely outer-surface electrical contacts for DIET in a methanogen.

scholarly journals SyntrophusConductive Pili Demonstrate that Common Hydrogen-Donating Syntrophs can have a Direct Electron Transfer Option

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J.F. Walker ◽  
Kelly P. Nevin ◽  
Dawn E. Holmes ◽  
Amelia-Elena Rotaru ◽  
Joy E. Ward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Transfer ◽  
Microbial Communities ◽  
Direct Electron Transfer ◽  
Electron Exchange ◽  
Practical Significance ◽  
Electrically Conductive ◽  
Interspecies Electron Transfer ◽  
Primary Mechanism ◽  
Electron Carriers ◽  
Syntrophus Aciditrophicus

AbstractSyntrophic interspecies electron exchange is essential for the stable functioning of diverse anaerobic microbial communities. Hydrogen/formate interspecies electron transfer (HFIT), in which H2and/or formate function as diffusible electron carriers, has been considered to be the primary mechanism for electron sharing because most common syntrophs were thought to lack biochemical components, such as electrically conductive pili (e-pili), necessary for direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET). Here we report thatSyntrophus aciditrophicus, one of the most intensively studied microbial models for HFIT, produces e-pili and can grow via DIET. Pilin genes likely to yield e-pili were found in other genera of hydrogen/formate-producing syntrophs. The finding that DIET is a likely option for diverse syntrophs that are abundant in many anaerobic environments necessitates a reexamination of the paradigm that HFIT is the predominant mechanism for syntrophic electron exchange within anaerobic microbial communities of biogeochemical and practical significance.

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