Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 - Rhodopseudomonas palustris Electro-syntrophic Co-culture

Engineered two-species electro-syntrophic co-culture of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 (the electron-donating partner) and Rhodopseudomonas palustris (the electron-accepting partner) built to study and enhance artificial interspecies electron transfer (IET). In-situ polydopamine (PDA) nano-encapsulation of the S. oneidensis MR-1 surface created a conductive, adhesive cell-to-cell interface that promoted stable coaggregation of the two partners and shifted the dominant IET mode from H2-mediated MIET toward contact-dependent direct electron transfer involving outer-membrane c-type cytochromes. Nitrogenase-derived CH4, used as a quantitative indicator of IET efficiency, increased by roughly 380% in the engineered community.