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Team:Bielefeld-CeBiTec/Project/rMFC/Theory
From 2014.igem.org
rMFC
Theory
Electrotrophes
There are several approaches to feed microorganisms with electrons in order to support microbial
respiration. One promising feasibility is the direct transfer of electrons to microorganisms. Bacteria that
can directly accept electrons from electrodes for the reduction of terminal electron acceptors are called
electrotrophes or electrode oxidizing bacteria.
The possibility of electron transfer to microorganisms was investigated for the first time by studies with
Geobacter species. (Lovley, Derek R., 2011)
Normally the production of multi-carbon organic products relies on organic feedstocks (biomass) as electron
donor. The use of biomass has the disadvantages that biomass production competes with food production and
that the costs for the required carbon source are a major factor if a production process is profitable or not.
That is why the possibility of powering microbial processes with electricity is very attractive.
(Lovley, Derek R. & Nevin, Kelly P. 2013)
Microorganisms can be provided with electrons via two major principles: Direct- and indirect electron
transfer.
Indirect electron transfer
Figure 1: Figure 1: Electron flow into GRAM-negative bacteria cells.
Direct electron transfer
References
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Lovley, Derek R., 2011. Powering microbes with electricity: direct electron transfer from electrodes to microbes. In: Environmental Microbiology Reports 3 (1), pp. 27–35.
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Lovley, Derek R. & Nevin, Kelly P., 2013. Electrobiocommodities: powering microbial production of fuels and commodity chemicals from carbon dioxide with electricity. In: Current Opinion in Biotechnology, 24, pp. 385-390.
