Alkane degradation coupled to Fe(III) reduction mediated by Gram-positive bacteria

Petroleum hydrocarbon contamination, such as n-alkanes, poses a significant global threat to ecosystems and human health. Microbial remediation emerges as a promising strategy for addressing this issue through both aerobic and anaerobic processes. Notably, the majority of anaerobic hydrocarbon degraders identified to date are Gram-negative bacteria. In this study, two electroactive Gram-positive strains, Lysinibacillus spp. strains SL-6A and SL-12A, were isolated from oil-contaminated soils in the Shengli Oilfield, China. Our experiments demonstrated that these strains effectively degraded n-hexadecane (n-C16) through extracellular Fe(III) reduction. When ferric citrate was used as the electron acceptor, strains SL-6A and SL-12A degraded 94.2 % and 87.4 % of n-C16, respectively, within 72 hours. This process was further confirmed using Fe(III)-containing minerals. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, UV-vis spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry data collectively indicated that surface-associated c-type cytochromes (c-Cyts) were crucial for extracellular electron transfer (EET), facilitating Fe(III) reduction. In addition, our strains were capable of producing flavin mononucleotide (FMN), a well-known redox-active organic molecule involved in EET processes, particularly in the presence of Fe(III). Whole-genome sequencing confirmed the pathways for n-alkane degradation and the synthesis of c-Cyts and FMN in our strains. This research highlights the potential of electroactive Gram-positive bacteria in hydrocarbon degradation in contaminated soils.

Extracellular Electron Shuttling Mediated by Soluble c-Type Cytochromes Produced by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

How metal-reducing bacteria transfer electrons during dissimilatory energy generation under electron acceptor-limited conditions is poorly understood. Here, we incubated the iron and manganese-reducing bacterium Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 without electron acceptors. Removal of soluble extracellular organic compounds (EOCs) dramatically retarded transfer of electrons to an experimental electron acceptor, Cr(VI), by MR-1. However, the return of either high MW (>3000 Da) or low MW (<3000 Da) soluble EOCs produced by MR-1 to washed cells restored Cr(VI) reduction though Cr(VI) reduction was fastest when both size fractions were added together. Spectral and electrochemical characterization of EOCs indicated the presence of flavins and c-type cytochromes (c-Cyts). A model of the kinetics of individual elementary reactions between cells, flavins, released c-Cyts, and Cr(VI), including the direct reduction of flavins, released c-Cyts, and Cr(VI) by cells and the indirect reduction of Cr(VI) by reduced forms of flavins and released c-Cyts, was developed. Model results suggest that released c-Cyts could act as electron mediators to accelerate electron transfer from cells to Cr(VI), and the relative contribution of this pathway was higher than that mediated by flavins. Hence, extracellular c-Cyts produced by MR-1 likely play a role in extracellular electron transfer under electron acceptor-limited conditions. These findings provide new insights into extracellular electron shuttling and the metabolic strategy of metal-reducing bacteria under electron acceptor-limited conditions.

Roles of molecular weight-fractionated extracellular polymeric substance in transformation of Au(III) to Au nanoparticles in aqueous environments

Extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) is widely distributed in natural environments and plays important roles in the biogeochemical cycling of heavy metal. Earlier works reported that EPS could reduce metal ions such as Au(III) and Ag(I) to corresponding metal nanoparticles (NPs). EPS is a complex mixture of microbiogenic polymers with wide molecular weight (MW) distribution, and the specific components of EPS responsible for Au(III) reduction and AuNPs stabilization are still not well understood. In this study, the EPS of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 was divided into six fractions with MW of <3, 3-10, 10-30, 30-50, 50-100, and >100 kDa, respectively through the ultrafiltration method and the roles of MW-fractionated EPS in the reduction of Au(III) to AuNPs were investigated. It was found that the low MW (<3 kDa) EPS was the major reducing agent in EPS but the fraction itself could not convert high concentration (>25 mg/L) of Au(III) to stable AuNPs due to its inferior AuNPs-stabilizing capacity. The high MW (>50 kDa) EPS could act as coating reagents to increase the stability of the formed AuNPs with sizes of 20-50 nm, but had low Au(III)-reducing activity. The carboxyl-containing substances in EPS may play crucial roles in stabilizing AuNPs. This finding is important for a better understanding of the differential roles of MW-fractionated EPS in the transformation and fate of Au(III) and AuNPs, as well as other metal ions and metal NPs in natural environments.

Promoting bidirectional extracellular electron transfer of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 for hexavalent chromium reduction via elevating intracellular cAMP level

The bioreduction capacity of Cr(VI) by Shewanella is mainly governed by its bidirectional extracellular electron transfer (EET). However, the low bidirectional EET efficiency restricts its wider applications in remediation of the environments contaminated by Cr(VI). Cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) commonly exists in Shewanella strains and cAMP-cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate receptor protein (CRP) system regulates multiple bidirectional EET-related pathways. This inspires us to strengthen the bidirectional EET through elevating the intracellular cAMP level in Shewanella strains. In this study, an exogenous gene encoding adenylate cyclase from the soil bacterium Beggiatoa sp. PS is functionally expressed in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (the strain MR-1/pbPAC) and a MR-1 mutant lacking all endogenous adenylate cyclase encoding genes (the strain Δca/pbPAC). The engineered strains exhibit the enhanced bidirectional EET capacities in microbial electrochemical systems compared with their counterparts. Meanwhile, a three times more rapid reduction rate of Cr(VI) is achieved by the strain MR-1/pbPAC than the control in batch experiments. Furthermore, a higher Cr(VI) reduction efficiency is also achieved by the strain MR-1/pbPAC in the Cr(VI)-reducing biocathode experiments. Such a bidirectional enhancement is attributed to the improved production of cAMP-CRP complex, which upregulates the expression levels of the genes encoding the c-type cytochromes and flavins synthetic pathways. Specially, this strategy could be used as a broad-spectrum approach for the other Shewanella strains. Our results demonstrate that elevating the intracellular cAMP levels could be an efficient strategy to enhance the bidirectional EET of Shewanella strains and improve their pollutant transformation capacity.

Mediation of Extracellular Polymeric Substances in Microbial Reduction of Hematite by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

Extracellular electron transfer (EET) plays a fundamental role in microbial reduction/oxidation of minerals. Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) surrounding the cells constitute a matrix that separates the cell's outer membrane from insoluble minerals and environmental fluid. This study investigated the effects of EPS on EET processes during microbial reduction of hematite by the iron-reducing strain Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (MR-1). Electrochemical characterization techniques were employed to determine the influence of EPS components on the redox ability of MR-1. Cells with removed EPS exhibited approximately 30% higher hematite reduction than regular MR-1 cells, and produced a current density of 56 μA cm-2, corresponding to 3-4 fold that of regular MR-1. The superior EET of EPS-deprived cells could be attributed to direct contact between outer membrane proteins and hematite surface, as indicated by more redox peaks being detected by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The significantly reduced current density of MR-1 cells treated with proteinase K and deoxyribonuclease suggests that the electron transfer capacity across the EPS layer depends mainly on the spatial distribution of specific proteins and electron shuttles. Exopolysaccharides in EPS tend to inhibit electron transfer, however they also favor the attachment of cells onto hematite surfaces. Consistently, the charge transfer resistance of cells lacking EPS was only 116.3 Ω, approximately 44 times lower than that of regular cells (5,139.1 Ω). These findings point to a negative influence of EPS on EET processes for microbial reduction/oxidation of minerals.