Abstract
Electrode-associated microbial biofilms are essential to the function of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs). These systems exist in a number of different configurations but all rely on electroactive microorganisms utilizing an electrode as either an electron acceptor or an electron donor to catalyze biological processes. Investigations of the structure and function of electrode-associated biofilms are critical to further the understanding of how microbial communities are able to reduce and oxidize electrodes. The community structure of electrode-reducing biofilms is diverse and often dominated by Geobacter spp. whereas electrode-oxidizing biofilms are often dominated by other microorganisms. The application of a wide range of tools, such as high-throughput sequencing and metagenomic data analyses, provide insight into the structure and possible function of microbial communities on electrode surfaces. However, the development and application of techniques that monitor gene expression profiles in real-time are required for a more definite spatial and temporal understanding of the diversity and biological activities of these dynamic communities. This mini review summarizes the key gene expression techniques used in BESs research, which have led to a better understanding of population dynamics, cell–cell communication and molecule-surface interactions in mixed and pure BES communities.
Highlights
Research into the field of electromicrobiology has grown exponentially over the last decade
There is a need to directly evaluate the metabolism of cells growing on electrodes in situ to better understand the electron transfer (EET) process
Genetic manipulation of key genes involved in EET, via deletion and overexpression, and subsequent in vivo monitoring of the EET is required to determine the role of each protein in EET
Summary
Research into the field of electromicrobiology has grown exponentially over the last decade. Electroactive microorganisms can utilize electrodes either as electron acceptors (termed electricigens) or electron donors (termed electrotrophs). These organisms have a broad range of applications in bioremediation, biofuel production, energy production, and biosensing through the use of a variety of bioelectrochemical systems (BESs; Nevin et al, 2010; Rosenbaum and Franks, 2014). Microorganisms in BESs are often found in biofilms on the electrode surface and can comprise bacteria, yeast and archaea (Lovley, 2006). The use of BESs has allowed the study of extracellular electron transfer (EET) to and from insoluble electron acceptors and donors (Rosenbaum and Franks, 2014). Our knowledge of these interactions is currently limited to a few well-studied bacteria, mostly species of Geobacter and Shewanella
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