Self-sustained phototrophic microbial fuel cells based on the synergistic cooperation between photosynthetic microorganisms and heterotrophic bacteria.

A sediment-type self-sustained phototrophic microbial fuel cell (MFC) was developed to generate electricity through the synergistic interaction between photosynthetic microorganisms and heterotrophic bacteria. Under illumination, the MFC continuously produced electricity without the external input of exogenous organics or nutrients. The current increased in the dark and decreased with the light on, possibly because of the negative effect of the oxygen produced via photosynthesis. Continuous illumination inhibited the current production while the continuous dark period stimulated the current production. Extended darkness resulted in a decrease of current, probably because of the consumption of the organics accumulated during the light phase. Using color filters or increasing the thickness of the sediment resulted in a reduction of the oxygen-induced inhibition. Molecular taxonomic analysis revealed that photosynthetic microorganisms including cyanobacteria and microalgae predominated in the water phase, adjacent to the cathode and on the surface of the sediment. In contrast, the sediments were dominated by heterotrophic bacteria, becoming less diverse with increasing depth. In addition, results from the air-cathode phototrophic MFC confirmed the light-induced current production while the test with the two-chamber MFC (in the dark) indicated the presence of electricigenic bacteria in the sediment.

[1]  Kazuya Watanabe,et al.  Plant/microbe cooperation for electricity generation in a rice paddy field , 2008, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[2]  B. Drasar,et al.  General microbiology. 7th edn , 1994 .

[3]  Y. Zuo,et al.  Electricity generation by Rhodopseudomonas palustris DX-1. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[4]  Byung Hong Kim,et al.  Enrichment of microbial community generating electricity using a fuel-cell-type electrochemical cell , 2004, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[5]  T. Katoh,et al.  "Living electrode" as a long-lived photoconverter for biophotolysis of water. , 1980, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[6]  T. Jukes.  CHAPTER 24 – Evolution of Protein Molecules , 1969 .

[7]  M. Yun,et al.  Bacterial communities on electron-beam Pt-deposited electrodes in a mediator-less microbial fuel cell. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[8]  G. Muyzer,et al.  Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis in marine microbial ecology , 2001 .

[9]  Keith Scott,et al.  Electricity generation from cysteine in a microbial fuel cell. , 2005, Water research.

[10]  N. Saitou,et al.  The neighbor-joining method: a new method for reconstructing phylogenetic trees. , 1987, Molecular biology and evolution.

[11]  R. Oremland,et al.  Anaerobic Oxidation of Arsenite in Mono Lake Water and by a Facultative, Arsenite-Oxidizing Chemoautotroph, Strain MLHE-1 , 2002, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[12]  Hubertus V. M. Hamelers,et al.  Renewable sustainable biocatalyzed electricity production in a photosynthetic algal microbial fuel cell (PAMFC) , 2008, Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology.

[13]  S. Jeffery.  Evolution of Protein Molecules , 1979 .

[14]  Uwe Schröder,et al.  On the use of cyclic voltammetry for the study of anodic electron transfer in microbial fuel cells , 2008 .

[15]  V. Ducros,et al.  First survey of fungi in hypersaline soil and water of Mono Lake area (California) , 2004, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek.

[16]  Kazuko Tanaka,et al.  Bioelectrochemical fuel‐cells operated by the cyanobacterium, Anabaena variabilis , 1985 .

[17]  T. Ogawa,et al.  Effects of light on the electrical output of bioelectrochemical fuel‐cells containing Anabaena variabilis M‐2: Mechanism of the post‐illumination burst , 2007 .

[18]  P. Liang,et al.  Electricity generation by an enriched phototrophic consortium in a microbial fuel cell , 2008 .

[19]  Samantha B. Reed,et al.  Current Production and Metal Oxide Reduction by Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 Wild Type and Mutants , 2008, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.

[20]  Hubertus V. M. Hamelers,et al.  Green electricity production with living plants and bacteria in a fuel cell , 2008 .

[21]  L. Stal,et al.  STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT OF A BENTHIC MARINE MICROBIAL MAT , 1985 .

[22]  K. Larsen,et al.  Ecosystem respiration depends strongly on photosynthesis in a temperate heath , 2007 .

[23]  Mu Chiao,et al.  Micromachined microbial and photosynthetic fuel cells , 2006 .

[24]  Uwe Schröder,et al.  In situ electrooxidation of photobiological hydrogen in a photobioelectrochemical fuel cell based on Rhodobacter sphaeroides. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[25]  Eoin L. Brodie,et al.  A novel ecological role of the Firmicutes identified in thermophilic microbial fuel cells , 2008, The ISME Journal.

[26]  T. Donohue,et al.  Development of a solar‐powered microbial fuel cell , 2008, Journal of applied microbiology.

[27]  Seunho Jung,et al.  Optimization of the performance of microbial fuel cells containing alkalophilic Bacillus sp. , 2001 .

[28]  T. Fenchel.  Microbial Behavior in a Heterogeneous World , 2002, Science.

[29]  Feng Chen,et al.  Temporal variation and detection limit of an estuarine bacterioplankton community analyzed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) , 2006 .

[30]  W. Verstraete,et al.  Microbial fuel cells generating electricity from rhizodeposits of rice plants. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[31]  Feng Chen,et al.  Application of Digital Image Analysis and Flow Cytometry To Enumerate Marine Viruses Stained with SYBR Gold , 2001, Applied and Environmental Microbiology.