Electrochemical checking of aerobic isolates from electrochemically active biofilms formed in compost.

AIMS

To design a cyclic voltammetry (CV) procedure to check the electrochemical activity of bacterial isolates that may explain the electrochemical properties of biofilms formed in compost.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Bacteria catalysing acetate oxidation in garden compost were able to form electrochemically active biofilms by transferring electrons to an electrode under chronoamperometry. They were recovered from the electrode surface and identification of the isolates using 16S rRNA sequencing showed that most of them were Gammaproteobacteria, mainly related to Enterobacter and Pseudomonas spp. A CV procedure was designed to check the electrochemical activity of both groups of isolates. Preliminary CVs suggested that the bacteria were not responsible for the catalysis of acetate oxidation. In contrast, both groups of isolates were found to catalyse the electrochemical reduction of oxygen under experimental conditions that favoured adsorption of the microbial cells on the electrode surface.

CONCLUSIONS

Members of the genera Enterobacter and Pseudomonas were found to be able to catalyse the electrochemical reduction of oxygen.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This study has shown the unexpected efficiency of Enterobacter and Pseudomonas spp. in catalysing the reduction of oxygen, suggesting a possible involvement of these species in biocorrosion, or possible application of these strains in designing bio-cathode for microbial fuel cells.