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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 3673-3678, Vol. 75, No. 11
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02600-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

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

Farzaneh Rezaei,1 Defeng Xing,2 Rachel Wagner,2 John M. Regan,2 Tom L. Richard,1 and Bruce E. Logan2*

Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering,1 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 168022

Received 13 November 2008/ Accepted 25 March 2009

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 13047T 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/m2, compared to 5.4 ± 0.3 mW/m2 for strain ATCC 13047T. These results demonstrate for the first time that it is possible to generate electricity from cellulose using a single bacterial strain without exogenous mediators.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Phone: (814) 863-7908. Fax: (814) 863-7304. E-mail: blogan{at}psu.edu

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 3 April 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 3673-3678, Vol. 75, No. 11
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02600-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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