@article {3084,
	title = { Strains Expressing Poorly Conductive Pili Reveal Constraints on Direct Interspecies Electron Transfer Mechanisms.},
	journal = {mBio},
	volume = {9},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018 Jul 10},
	abstract = {<p>Cytochrome-to-cytochrome electron transfer and electron transfer along conduits of multiple extracellular magnetite grains are often proposed as strategies for direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) that do not require electrically conductive pili (e-pili). However, physical evidence for these proposed DIET mechanisms has been lacking. To investigate these possibilities further, we constructed  strain Aro-5, in which the wild-type pilin gene was replaced with the  pilin gene that was previously shown to yield poorly conductive pili in  strain Aro-5.  strain Aro-5 did not reduce Fe(III) oxide and produced only low current densities, phenotypes consistent with expression of poorly conductive pili. Like  strain Aro-5,  strain Aro-5 displayed abundant outer surface cytochromes. Cocultures initiated with wild-type  as the electron-donating strain and  strain Aro-5 as the electron-accepting strain grew via DIET. However,  Aro-5/ wild-type cocultures did not. Cocultures initiated with the Aro-5 strains of both species grew only when amended with granular activated carbon (GAC), a conductive material known to be a conduit for DIET. Magnetite could not substitute for GAC. The inability of the two Aro-5 strains to adapt for DIET in the absence of GAC suggests that there are physical constraints on establishing DIET solely through cytochrome-to-cytochrome electron transfer or along chains of magnetite. The finding that DIET is possible with electron-accepting partners that lack highly conductive pili greatly expands the range of potential electron-accepting partners that might participate in DIET. DIET is thought to be an important mechanism for interspecies electron exchange in natural anaerobic soils and sediments in which methane is either produced or consumed, as well as in some photosynthetic mats and anaerobic digesters converting organic wastes to methane. Understanding the potential mechanisms for DIET will not only aid in modeling carbon and electron flow in these geochemically significant environments but will also be helpful for interpreting meta-omic data from as-yet-uncultured microbes in DIET-based communities and for designing strategies to promote DIET in anaerobic digesters. The results demonstrate the need to develop a better understanding of the diversity of types of e-pili in the microbial world to identify potential electron-donating partners for DIET. Novel methods for recovering as-yet-uncultivated microorganisms capable of DIET in culture will be needed to further evaluate whether DIET is possible without e-pili in the absence of conductive materials such as GAC.</p>},
	keywords = {Cytochromes, Electron Transport, Ferric Compounds, Fimbriae, Bacterial, Geobacter, Microbial Interactions, Oxidation-Reduction},
	issn = {2150-7511},
	doi = {10.1128/mBio.01273-18},
	author = {Ueki, Toshiyuki and Nevin, Kelly P and Rotaru, Amelia-Elena and Wang, Li-Ying and Ward, Joy E and Woodard, Trevor L and Lovley, Derek R}
}
@article {404,
	title = {Interspecies electron transfer via hydrogen and formate rather than direct electrical connections in cocultures of Pelobacter carbinolicus and Geobacter sulfurreducens.},
	journal = {Appl Environ Microbiol},
	volume = {78},
	year = {2012},
	month = {2012 Nov},
	pages = {7645-51},
	abstract = {<p>Direct interspecies electron transfer (DIET) is an alternative to interspecies H(2)/formate transfer as a mechanism for microbial species to cooperatively exchange electrons during syntrophic metabolism. To understand what specific properties contribute to DIET, studies were conducted with Pelobacter carbinolicus, a close relative of Geobacter metallireducens, which is capable of DIET. P. carbinolicus grew in coculture with Geobacter sulfurreducens with ethanol as the electron donor and fumarate as the electron acceptor, conditions under which G. sulfurreducens formed direct electrical connections with G. metallireducens. In contrast to the cell aggregation associated with DIET, P. carbinolicus and G. sulfurreducens did not aggregate. Attempts to initiate cocultures with a genetically modified strain of G. sulfurreducens incapable of both H(2) and formate utilization were unsuccessful, whereas cocultures readily grew with mutant strains capable of formate but not H(2) uptake or vice versa. The hydrogenase mutant of G. sulfurreducens compensated, in cocultures, with significantly increased formate dehydrogenase gene expression. In contrast, the transcript abundance of a hydrogenase gene was comparable in cocultures with that for the formate dehydrogenase mutant of G. sulfurreducens or the wild type, suggesting that H(2) was the primary electron carrier in the wild-type cocultures. Cocultures were also initiated with strains of G. sulfurreducens that could not produce pili or OmcS, two essential components for DIET. The finding that P. carbinolicus exchanged electrons with G. sulfurreducens via interspecies transfer of H(2)/formate rather than DIET demonstrates that not all microorganisms that can grow syntrophically are capable of DIET and that closely related microorganisms may use significantly different strategies for interspecies electron exchange.</p>},
	keywords = {Coculture Techniques, Deltaproteobacteria, Electricity, Electron Transport, Electrons, Formates, Geobacter, Hydrogen, Microbial Interactions},
	issn = {1098-5336},
	doi = {10.1128/AEM.01946-12},
	author = {Rotaru, Amelia-Elena and Shrestha, Pravin M and Liu, Fanghua and Ueki, Toshiyuki and Nevin, Kelly and Summers, Zarath M and Lovley, Derek R}
}
