Flagella act as Geobacter biofilm scaffolds to stabilize biofilm and facilitate extracellular electron transfer

Abstract

Flagella are widely expressed in electroactive biofilms; however, their actual role is unknown. To understand the role of flagella, two Geobacter sulfurreducens strains (KN400 and PCA, with and without flagella, respectively) were selected. We restored flagellum expression in trans in strain PCA and prevented flagellum expression in strain KN400. Electrochemical results showed that flagellum restoration in strain PCA promoted current generation, while flagellum deletion in strain KN400 impaired current production. However, the expression of conductive pili and outer surface c-type cytochromes was not affected. Further microscopic analyses demonstrated that flagella promoted the formation of thicker biofilms and served as biofilm matrix scaffolds to accommodate more extracellular cytochromes with an orderly arrangement, which increased the electron diffusion rate within the biofilm. Our findings reveal an unprecedented structural role for flagella in stabilizing electroactive biofilms and highlight the importance of cytochromes in electron transfer across biofilms, which will deepen our understanding of biofilm conductivity.