Capable of Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer.

Title Capable of Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2020
AuthorsZheng S, Liu F, Wang B, Zhang Y, Lovley DR
JournalEnviron Sci Technol
Volume54
Issue23
Pagination15347-15354
Date Published2020 Dec 01
ISSN1520-5851
KeywordsElectron Transport, Electrons, Geobacter, Methane, Methanobacterium
Abstract

Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) from bacteria to methanogens is a revolutionary concept for syntrophic metabolism in methanogenic soils/sediments and anaerobic digestion. Previous studies have indicated that the potential for DIET is limited to methanogens in the , leading to the assumption that an abundance of other types of methanogens, such as species, indicates a lack of DIET. We report here on a strain of , designated strain YSL, that grows via DIET in defined cocultures with . The cocultures formed aggregates, in which cells of strain YSL and were uniformly dispersed throughout. This close association of the two species is the likely explanation for the ability of a strain of that could not express electrically conductive pili to grow in coculture with strain YSL. Granular activated carbon promoted the initial formation of the DIET-based cocultures. The discovery of DIET in , the genus of methanogens that has been the exemplar for interspecies electron transfer H, suggests that the capacity for DIET is much more broadly distributed among methanogens than previously considered. More innovative approaches to microbial isolation and characterization are needed in order to better understand how methanogenic communities function.

DOI10.1021/acs.est.0c05525
Alternate JournalEnviron Sci Technol
PubMed ID33205658