title: Combining microbial cultures for efficient production of electricity from butyrate in a microbial electrochemical cell.
abstract: Butyrate is an important product of anaerobic fermentation; however, it is not directly used by characterized strains of the highly efficient anode respiring bacteria (ARB) Geobacter sulfurreducens in microbial electrochemical cells. By combining a butyrate-oxidizing community with a Geobacter rich culture, we generated a microbial community which outperformed many naturally derived communities found in the literature for current production from butyrate and rivaled the highest performing natural cultures in terms of current density (∼ 11A/m(2)) and Coulombic efficiency (∼ 70%). Microbial community analyses support the shift in the microbial community from one lacking efficient ARB in the marine hydrothermal vent community to a community consisting of ∼ 80% Geobacter in the anode biofilm. This demonstrates the successful production and adaptation of a novel microbial culture for generating electrical current from butyrate with high current density and high Coulombic efficiency, by combining two mixed microbial cultures containing complementing biochemical pathways.
authors.affiliation: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Miceli
authors.affiliation: Bioprocesses Department, Unidad Profesional Interdisciplinaria de Biotecnología, IPN P.O. Box 07340, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Garcia-Peña
authors.affiliation: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA.
authors.forename: Prathap
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Parameswaran
authors.affiliation: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA; Chemical Engineering Program, School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. Electronic address: cit@asu.edu.
authors.forename: César I
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Torres
authors.affiliation: Swette Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 875701, Tempe, AZ 85287-5701, USA; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA. Electronic address: Dr.Rosy@asu.edu.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Krajmalnik-Brown
mesh_terms: D000085:Acetates / Q000378:metabolism; D000332:Aerobiosis; D061249:Batch Cell Culture Techniques; D001674:Bioelectric Energy Sources / Q000382:microbiology*; D002087:Butyrates / Q000378:metabolism*; D004560:Electricity; D004566:Electrodes; D004583:Electrons; D045302:Geobacter / Q000378:metabolism*; D060086:Hydrothermal Vents / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000085:Acetates; D002087:Butyrates
keywords: Fermentation; Geobacter; Microbial fuel cell; Short chain fatty acids; Syntrophy