High throughput techniques for the rapid identification of electroactive microorganisms

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2021-12, Vol.285, p.131489-131489, Article 131489
• Main Authors: Nath, Dibyojyoty, Das, Sovik, Ghangrekar, M.M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Bioelectronics; Electroactive microorganisms; Extracellular electron transfer; Microbial electrochemical technology; Microbial electrosynthesis; Microbial fuel cell
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131489

Electroactive microorganisms (EAM), capable of executing extracellular electron transfer (EET) in/out of a cell, are employed in microbial electrochemical technologies (MET) and bioelectronics for harnessing electricity from wastewater, bioremediation and as biosensors. Thus, investigation on EAM is becoming a topic of interest for multidisciplinary areas, such as environmental science, energy and health sectors. Though, EAM are widespread in three domains of life, nevertheless, only a few hundred EAM have been identified so far and hence, the rapid identification of EAM is imperative. In this review, the techniques that are developed for the direct identification of EAM, such as azo dye and WO3 based techniques, dielectrophoresis, potentiostatic/galvanometric techniques, and other indirect methods, such as spectroscopy and molecular biology techniques, are highlighted with a special focus on time required for the detection of these EAM. The bottlenecks for identifying EAM and the knowledge gaps based on the present investigations are also discussed. Thus, this review is intended to encourage researchers for devolving high-throughput techniques for identifying EAM with more accuracy, while consuming less time. [Display omitted] •Different applications of electroactive microorganisms (EAMs) are presented.•Numerous high-throughput techniques developed for identifying EAMs are articulated.•Mechanisms and time consumed for the electrochemical techniques are elucidated.•Drawbacks and benefits of these high-throughput techniques are also highlighted.•Recent scientific facts on EAM behaviour with future scope of research are provided.