Papers

Peer-reviewed
Nov, 2013

Comparative Metagenomics of Anode-Associated Microbiomes Developed in Rice Paddy-Field Microbial Fuel Cells

PLOS ONE
  • Atsushi Kouzuma
  • ,
  • Takuya Kasai
  • ,
  • Gen Nakagawa
  • ,
  • Ayaka Yamamuro
  • ,
  • Takashi Abe
  • ,
  • Kazuya Watanabe

Volume
8
Number
11
First page
e77443
Last page
Language
English
Publishing type
Research paper (scientific journal)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0077443
Publisher
PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

In sediment-type microbial fuel cells (sMFCs) operating in rice paddy fields, rice-root exudates are converted to electricity by anode-associated rhizosphere microbes. Previous studies have shown that members of the family Geobacteraceae are enriched on the anodes of rhizosphere sMFCs. To deepen our understanding of rhizosphere microbes involved in electricity generation in sMFCs, here, we conducted comparative analyses of anode-associated microbiomes in three MFC systems: a rice paddy-field sMFC, and acetate-and glucose-fed MFCs in which pieces of graphite felt that had functioned as anodes in rice paddy-field sMFC were used as rhizosphere microbe-bearing anodes. After electric outputs became stable, microbiomes associated with the anodes of these MFC systems were analyzed by pyrotag sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons and Illumina shotgun metagenomics. Pyrotag sequencing showed that Geobacteraceae bacteria were associated with the anodes of all three systems, but the dominant Geobacter species in each MFC were different. Specifically, species closely related to G. metallireducens comprised 90% of the anode Geobacteraceae in the acetate-fed MFC, but were only relatively minor components of the rhizosphere sMFC and glucose-fed MFC, whereas species closely related to G. psychrophilus were abundantly detected. This trend was confirmed by the phylogenetic assignments of predicted genes in shotgun metagenome sequences of the anode microbiomes. Our findings suggest that G. psychrophilus and its related species preferentially grow on the anodes of rhizosphere sMFCs and generate electricity through syntrophic interactions with organisms that excrete electron donors.

Link information
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0077443
Web of Science
https://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcAuth=JSTA_CEL&SrcApp=J_Gate_JST&DestLinkType=FullRecord&KeyUT=WOS:000326499300005&DestApp=WOS_CPL
ID information
  • DOI : 10.1371/journal.pone.0077443
  • ISSN : 1932-6203
  • Web of Science ID : WOS:000326499300005

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