Simultaneous Cellulose Degradation and Electricity Production by Enterobacter cloacae in a Microbial Fuel Cell

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Abstract
Electricity can be directly generated by bacteria in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) from many different biodegradable substrates. When cellulose is used as the substrate, electricity generation requires a microbial community with both cellulolytic and exoelectrogenic activities. Cellulose degradation with electricity production by a pure culture has not been previously demonstrated without addition of an exogenous mediator. Using a specially designed U-tube MFC, we enriched a consortium of exoelectrogenic bacteria capable of using cellulose as the sole electron donor. After 19 dilution-to-extinction serial transfers of the consortium, 16S rRNA gene-based community analysis using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and band sequencing revealed that the dominant bacterium was Enterobacter cloacae . An isolate designated E. cloacae FR from the enrichment was found to be 100% identical to E. cloacae ATCC 13047 T based on a partial 16S rRNA sequence. In polarization tests using the U-tube MFC and cellulose as a substrate, strain FR produced 4.9 ± 0.01 mW/m 2 , compared to 5.4 ± 0.3 mW/m 2 for strain ATCC 13047 T . These results demonstrate for the first time that it is possible to generate electricity from cellulose using a single bacterial strain without exogenous mediators.

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