Spatiotemporal development of the bacterial community in a tubular longitudinal microbial fuel cell

• Published in: Applied microbiology and biotechnology 2011-05, Vol.90 (3), p.1179-1191
• Main Authors: Kim, Jung Rae, Beecroft, Nelli J., Varcoe, John R., Dinsdale, Richard M., Guwy, Alan J., Slade, Robert C. T., Thumser, Alfred, Avignone-Rossa, Claudio, Premier, Giuliano C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Bacteria; Bacteria - classification; Bacteria - genetics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacteria - metabolism; Bacteroides; Biochemical fuel cells; Biodegradable materials; Bioelectric Energy Sources - microbiology; Bioenergy and Biofuels; Biofilms; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Communities; Community composition; Community development; Composite materials; Cooperation; DNA sequencing; DNA, Bacterial - genetics; Dynamical systems; Electric power production; Electricity generation; Electrodes; Fuel cell industry; Fuel cells; Fuel technology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Klebsiella; Lactococcus; Life Sciences; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Microbiology; Microorganisms; Molecular Sequence Data; Nucleotide sequencing; Phylogeny; Polymerase chain reaction; Quantitative analysis; Raoultella ornithinolytica; Reactors; Reproducibility; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Species composition; Species diversity; Studies; Sucrose - metabolism; Trends
• ISSN: 0175-7598; 1432-0614
• DOI: 10.1007/s00253-011-3181-y

The spatiotemporal development of a bacterial community in an exoelectrogenic biofilm was investigated in sucrose-fed longitudinal tubular microbial fuel cell reactors, consisting of two serially connected modules. The proportional changes in the microbial community composition were assessed by polymerase chain reaction–denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing in order to relate them to the performance and stability of the bioelectrochemical system. The reproducibility of duplicated reactors, evaluated by cluster analysis and Jaccard’s coefficient, shows 80–90% similarity in species composition. Biofilm development through fed-batch start-up and subsequent stable continuous operation results in a population shift from γ-Proteobacteria - and Bacteroidetes - to Firmicutes -dominated communities, with other diverse species present at much lower relative proportions. DGGE patterns were analysed by range-weighted richness ( R r) and Pareto–Lorenz evenness distribution curves to investigate the evolution of the bacterial community. The first modules shifted from dominance by species closely related to Bacteroides graminisolvens , Raoultella ornithinolytica and Klebsiella sp. BM21 at the start of continuous-mode operation to a community dominated by Paludibacter propionicigenes -, Lactococcus sp.-, Pantoea agglomerans - and Klebsiella oxytoca -related species with stable power generation (6.0 W/m 3 ) at day 97. Operational strategies that consider the dynamics of the population will provide useful parameters for evaluating system performance in the practical application of microbial fuel cells.