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Clostridium cellulolyticum-Geobacter sulfurreducens Cellulose MFC Coculture

Community ID CommunityMech:000175
Ecological State ENGINEERED
Environment cellulose-fed microbial fuel cell anode chamber
ENVO:01001405

A defined binary microbial fuel cell coculture pairing the cellulolytic fermenter Clostridium cellulolyticum with the electrochemically active bacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens. The community couples cellulose hydrolysis and fermentation to anode respiration: C. cellulolyticum metabolizes cellulose, while G. sulfurreducens uses fermentation products to transfer electrons to the anode. The same exact two-species composition was reported in an initial cellulose-to-electricity study and a follow-up cellulose-fed microbial biofilm ecology study. The system is relevant to DOE bioenergy because it converts cellulosic biomass into electricity in a controlled bioelectrochemical reactor.

Taxonomy

Taxon Ontology ID Functional Roles Abundance
Clostridium cellulolyticum NCBITaxon:1521
PRIMARY_DEGRADER CROSS_FEEDER
ABUNDANT
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "cellulolytic fermenter Clostridium cellulolyticum"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "defined co-culture of Clostridium cellulolyticum"
Geobacter sulfurreducens NCBITaxon:35554
CROSS_FEEDER SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
ABUNDANT
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "electrochemically active Geobacter sulfurreducens"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Geobacter cells were attached to the electrode"

Ecological Interactions

Ecological interaction network for Clostridium cellulolyticum-Geobacter sulfurreducens Cellulose MFC Coculture Bipartite graph where circle nodes represent taxa and colored rectangles represent ecological interactions (cross-feeding, mutualism, syntrophy, competition, commensalism).
Taxon
Cross-feeding
Mutualism
Syntrophy
Competition
Commensalism
Niche partitioning
Colonization facilitation
Strain competition
Predation

Cellulose Fermentation Feeding Electrode Respiration

SYNTROPHY

Source Taxon: Clostridium cellulolyticum

Target Taxon: Geobacter sulfurreducens

Metabolites: cellulose (CHEBI:18246), acetate (CHEBI:30089), dihydrogen (CHEBI:18276), ethanol (CHEBI:16236)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "requires a syntrophic microbial community"
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Hydrogen, acetate, and ethanol were the main residual metabolites"

Defined Binary Electricity Production

MUTUALISM

Source Taxon: Clostridium cellulolyticum

Target Taxon: Geobacter sulfurreducens

Metabolites: cellulose (CHEBI:18246), acetate (CHEBI:30089)

Biological Processes:

Evidence

  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "Neither pure culture alone produced electricity"
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "increased CMC degradation from 42% to 64%"

Substrate-Dependent Spatial Partitioning

NICHE_PARTITIONING

Source Taxon: Clostridium cellulolyticum

Target Taxon: Geobacter sulfurreducens

Metabolites: cellulose (CHEBI:18246)

Evidence

  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "particulate MN301 cellulose was used as sole substrate"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "most Clostridium cells were found adhered to cellulose particles"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "most Geobacter cells were attached to the electrode"

External Resources

Name Repository Resource ID
Exact-system primary publication - cellulose-to-electricity binary MFC coculture
Primary publication reporting electricity production from cellulose by the exact C. cellulolyticum and G. sulfurreducens two-species coculture. 		OTHER PMID:17695929
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "defined coculture of the cellulolytic fermenter Clostridium cellulolyticum"
Exact-system follow-up publication - cellulose-fed microbial ecology and biofilm localization
Follow-up publication reporting microbial ecology, FISH, and qPCR observations for the same C. cellulolyticum and G. sulfurreducens cellulose-fed MFC coculture. 		OTHER PMID:18725730
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "defined co-culture of Clostridium cellulolyticum and Geobacter sulfurreducens"

Environmental Factors

Factor Value Unit
Cellulose substrate carboxymethyl cellulose or MN301 cellulose N/A
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) and MN301 cellulose"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "soluble carboxymethyl cellulose was used"
Anode as extracellular electron acceptor microbial fuel cell anode N/A
  • PMID:17695929 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "insoluble electron donor (cellulose) and electron acceptor (anode)"
  • PMID:18725730 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)
    "attached to the electrode"

Growth Media

Cellulose-fed two-chamber microbial fuel cell

Atmosphere ANAEROBIC

Composition

Component Concentration Unit CHEBI
carboxymethyl cellulose 1 g/L CHEBI:18246
MN301 cellulose N/A N/A CHEBI:18246

Preparation notes: Two-chamber microbial fuel cell anode culture with cellulose-derived substrates; the abstract reports ferricyanide as catholyte but does not provide a full medium recipe.

Evidence

PMID:17695929

"two-chamber MFCs with ferricyanide as the catholyte"

PMID:17695929

"from 1 g/L carboxymethyl cellulose"