Comparative genomic analysis reveals electron transfer pathways of Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum: Insights into thermophilic electroactive bacteria

Abstract

Microbial extracellular respiration is an important energy metabolism on earth, which is significant for the elemental biogeochemical cycle. Herein, extracellular Fe(III) and electrode respiration were confirmed in Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum MJ2. The intra/extracellular electron transfer (IET/EET) mechanism of MJ2 was investigated by comparative genomic analysis for the first time. Morphological characterization and electrochemical properties of anode illustrated that MJ2 generated bio-electricity by forming a biofilm. The respiration chain inhibition and enzyme activity tests showed that hydrogenase with cytochrome c (Cyt-c) was involved in IET of MJ2. Noteworthily, the exogenous Cyt-c increased hydrogenase activity to promote bio-electricity generation by 92.84 %. The Cyt-c gene synteny between MJ2 and another well-known exoelectrogen (Thermincola potens JR) indicated that Cyt-c bound to the outer membrane mediated the formation of biofilm involved in EET of MJ2. This study broadened the understanding of microbial extracellular respiration diversity and provided new insights to explore the electron transfer pathways of exoelectrogens.

Keywords: Biofilms; Comparative genomic analysis; Cytochrome c; Extracellular electron transfer; Intracellular electron transfer.