Bacterial Power: An Alternative Energy
Source
Bruno M. Fonseca, Ricardo M. Soares, Catarina M. Paquete,
and Ricardo O. Louro
Abstract
The demand for energy and the limited supply of fossil fuels and their impact in
the environment have required the development of alternative energy sources.
Among the next generation of energy sources, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have
emerged as a promising technology due to their ability to recover energy from
wastewaters in the form of electricity using electroactive microorganisms as
catalysts. Among the various factors that affect power generation performance in
MFCs, the efficiency of extracellular electron transfer (EET) is one of the most
important. Several enzymes, specifically multiheme cytochromes, have been
implicated in this process although the electron transfer chain organization
remains to be fully understood. In this chapter, we review in detail the
mechanisms that support EET from electroactive microorganisms to the anode in
MFCs. We focus on the model organism Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, due to
the existence of an extensive molecular characterization of its EET processes.
The recent developments in the characterization of the multiheme cytochromes
involved in these mechanisms will also be reviewed.
Keywords
Alternative energy Á Microbial fuel cell Á Electroactive microorganism Á
Shewanella oneidensis Á Extracellular electron transfer Á Enzyme Á Multiheme
cytochrome
B. M. Fonseca Á C. M. Paquete Á R. O. Louro (&)
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
ITQB-NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal
e-mail: louro@itqb.unl.pt
R. M. Soares
Instituto Nacional Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Oeiras, Portugal
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. J. G. Moura et al. (eds.), Enzymes for Solving Humankind's Problems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58315-6_8
215
Source
Bruno M. Fonseca, Ricardo M. Soares, Catarina M. Paquete,
and Ricardo O. Louro
Abstract
The demand for energy and the limited supply of fossil fuels and their impact in
the environment have required the development of alternative energy sources.
Among the next generation of energy sources, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) have
emerged as a promising technology due to their ability to recover energy from
wastewaters in the form of electricity using electroactive microorganisms as
catalysts. Among the various factors that affect power generation performance in
MFCs, the efficiency of extracellular electron transfer (EET) is one of the most
important. Several enzymes, specifically multiheme cytochromes, have been
implicated in this process although the electron transfer chain organization
remains to be fully understood. In this chapter, we review in detail the
mechanisms that support EET from electroactive microorganisms to the anode in
MFCs. We focus on the model organism Shewanella oneidensis MR-1, due to
the existence of an extensive molecular characterization of its EET processes.
The recent developments in the characterization of the multiheme cytochromes
involved in these mechanisms will also be reviewed.
Keywords
Alternative energy Á Microbial fuel cell Á Electroactive microorganism Á
Shewanella oneidensis Á Extracellular electron transfer Á Enzyme Á Multiheme
cytochrome
B. M. Fonseca Á C. M. Paquete Á R. O. Louro (&)
Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica Antonio Xavier, Universidade Nova de Lisboa,
ITQB-NOVA, Oeiras, Portugal
e-mail: louro@itqb.unl.pt
R. M. Soares
Instituto Nacional Investigação Agrária e Veterinária, Oeiras, Portugal
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
J. J. G. Moura et al. (eds.), Enzymes for Solving Humankind's Problems,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-58315-6_8
215