Abstract
As important components of enzymes and coenzymes involved in energy transfer and Wood-Ljungdahl (WL) pathways, Fe2+ and Ni2+ supplementation may promote the acetate synthesis through CO2 reduction by the microbial electrosynthesis (MES). However, the effect of Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition on acetate production in MES and corresponding microbial mechanisms have not been fully studied. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition on acetate production in MES, and explored the underlying microbial mechanism from the metatranscriptomic perspective. Both Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition enhanced acetate production of the MES, which was 76.9% and 110.9% higher than that of control, respectively. Little effect on phylum level and small changes in genus-level microbial composition was caused by Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition. Gene expression of ‘Energy metabolism’, especially in ‘Carbon fixation pathways in prokaryotes’ was up-regulated by Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition. Hydrogenase was found as an important energy transfer mediator for CO2 reduction and acetate synthesis. Fe2+ addition and Ni2+ addition respectively enhanced the expression of methyl branch and carboxyl branch of the WL pathway, and thus promoted acetate production. The study provided a metatranscriptomic insight into the effect of Fe2+ and Ni2+ on acetate production by CO2 reduction in MES.
Graphical Abstract
Highlights
λ Acetate microbial electrosynthesis was enhanced by Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition.
λ Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition caused small changes in genus-level microbial composition.
λ Genes expression of hydrogenase was increased with Fe2+ and Ni2+ addition.
λ Fe2+ improved methyl and Ni2+ improved carboxyl branch expression of WL pathway.
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Data Availability
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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The authors also thank School of Environment and Civil Engineering for laboratory assistance, Zhang Xiao for logistical support.
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This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51678280) and Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (No. KYCX18_1849).
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JZ: Conceptualization, Methodology, Data Curation, Investigation, Formal Analysis, Visualization, Writing - Original Draft; HL: Funding Acquisition, Resources, Project administration, Writing - Review & Editing; YZ: Conceptualization, Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Original Draft; BF: Methodology, Formal Analysis, Writing - Review & Editing; CZ: Data Curation, Formal Analysis, Software; MHC: Investigation, Formal Analysis, Writing - Review & Editing; PW: Investigation, Formal Analysis, Validation; ZWG: Validation, Software. All authors read and approved the manuscript.
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Zhang, J., Liu, H., Zhang, Y. et al. Metatranscriptomic insights into the microbial electrosynthesis of acetate by Fe2+/Ni2+ addition. World J Microbiol Biotechnol 39, 109 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03554-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11274-023-03554-y