Evidence for direct electron transfer by a gram-positive bacterium isolated from a microbial fuel cell.

ABSTRACT: Despite their importance in iron redox cycles and bioenergy production, the underlying physiological, genetic, and biochemical mechanisms of extracellular electron transfer by Gram-positive bacteria remain insufficiently understood. In this work, we investigated respiration by Thermincola potens strain JR, a Gram-positive isolate obtained from the anode surface of a microbial fuel cell, using insoluble electron acceptors. We found no evidence that soluble redox-active components were secreted into the surrounding medium on the basis of physiological experiments and cyclic voltammetry measurements. Confocal microscopy revealed highly stratified biofilms in which cells contacting the electrode surface were disproportionately viable relative to the rest of the biofilm. Furthermore, there was

SUBMITTER: Wrighton KC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3209153 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature