Light-Dependent Electrogenic Activity of Cyanobacteria

Pisciotta, John M.; Zou, Yongjin; Baskakov, Ilia V.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0010821

Cited by 222 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…The overlapping between the methane peak and the oxygen peak in situ suggests that hypoxia is not a factor. It is also unlikely that epilimnetic organisms would suffer from strong oxidative stress, because they frequently experience high oxygen concentration and have multiple mechanisms to cope with it (22). Although conversion of methylated compounds such as methanethiol to methane can be bioenergetically favorable for methanogenic Archaea (13), neither methanethiol nor other methylated compounds are commonly found in high concentrations in oxygenated epilimnion in lakes (23)(24)(25).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial methane production in oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake

Grossart

Frindte

Dziallas

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

283

328

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The prevailing paradigm in aquatic science is that microbial methanogenesis happens primarily in anoxic environments. Here, we used multiple complementary approaches to show that microbial methane production could and did occur in the well-oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake (Lake Stechlin, Germany). Oversaturation of methane was repeatedly recorded in the well-oxygenated upper 10 m of the water column, and the methane maxima coincided with oxygen oversaturation at 6 m. Laboratory incubations of unamended epilimnetic lake water and inoculations of photoautotrophs with a lake-enrichment culture both led to methane production even in the presence of oxygen, and the production was not affected by the addition of inorganic phosphate or methylated compounds. Methane production was also detected by in-lake incubations of lake water, and the highest production rate was 1.8-2.4 nM·h −1 at 6 m, which could explain 33-44% of the observed ambient methane accumulation in the same month. Temporal and spatial uncoupling between methanogenesis and methanotrophy was supported by field and laboratory measurements, which also helped explain the oversaturation of methane in the upper water column. Potentially methanogenic Archaea were detected in situ in the oxygenated, methane-rich epilimnion, and their attachment to photoautotrophs might allow for anaerobic growth and direct transfer of substrates for methane production. Specific PCR on mRNA of the methyl coenzyme M reductase A gene revealed active methanogenesis. Microbial methane production in oxygenated water represents a hitherto overlooked source of methane and can be important for carbon cycling in the aquatic environments and water to air methane flux. epilimnic methane peak | methanogens A lthough methane makes up <2 parts per million by volume (ppmv) of the atmosphere, it accounts for 20% of the total radiative forcing among all long-lived greenhouse gases (1). In the aquatic environments, methane is also an important substrate for microbial production (2). The prevailing paradigm is that microbial methanogenesis occurs primarily in anoxic environments (3, 4). A commonly observed paradox is methane accumulation in well-oxygenated waters (2, 5), which is often assumed to be the result of physical transport from anoxic sediment and water (6-8) or in situ production within microanoxic zones (9-11). Two recent studies challenged this paradigm and suggested that microbes in oligotrophic ocean can metabolize methylated compounds and release methane even aerobically (12, 13). These claims are not without caveats, because the amounts of methylated compounds added [1-10 μM methylphosphonate (12) and 50 μM dimethyl sulfoniopropionate (13)] were far higher than their environmental concentrations, and therefore, the ecological relevance remains obscure. Moreover, dissolved oxygen (DO) was not monitored during the long incubation (5-6 d), and the possibility that the experimental setups had become anoxic before methane production could not be dismissed.* Despite the unce...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Microbial methane production in oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake

Grossart

Frindte

Dziallas

et al. 2011

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

283

328

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“…Various cyanobacteria were used in most effective PMFCs reported (Yagishita et al, 1993;Torimura et al, 2001;Pisciotta et al, 2010). In particular, the ability of the cyanobacteria Nostoc sp, in generating a photocurrent was investigated using various electrochemical methods.…”

Section: The Bacterial Cell As Photobiocatalystmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Polypyridines containing transition metals have a longer lifetime in their high energy excited states (Krassen et al, 2011). However, they generally require more expensive metals (Pisciotta et al, 2010). It is worth noting that the biomimetic-based semiconductor materials mimicking the PS2`s OEC were designed to create energy devices during the earlly 1970`s (Fujishima and Honda, 1972).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Photoelectrochemical cells based on photosynthetic systems: a review

et al. 2015

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HIGHLIGHTSPhotosynthesis is a process which converts light energy into energy contained in the chemical bonds of organic compounds by photosynthetic pigments such as chlorophyll (Chl a, b, c, d, f) or bacteriochlorophyll. It occurs in phototrophic organisms, which include higher plants and many types of photosynthetic bacteria, including cyanobacteria. In the case of the oxygenic photosynthesis, water is a donor of both electrons and protons, and solar radiation serves as inexhaustible source of energy. Efficiency of energy conversion in the primary processes of photosynthesis is close to 100%. Therefore, for many years photosynthesis has attracted the attention of researchers and designers looking for alternative energy systems as one of the most efficient and eco-friendly pathways of energy conversion. The latest advances in the design of optimal solar cells include the creation of converters based on thylakoid membranes, photosystems, and whole cells of cyanobacteria immobilized on nanostructured electrode (gold nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles of ZnO and TiO2). The mode of solar energy conversion in photosynthesis has a great potential as a source of renewable energy while it is sustainable and environmentally safety as well. Application of pigments such as Chl f and Chl d (unlike Chl a and Chl b), by absorbing the far-red and near infrared region of the spectrum (in the range 700-750 nm), will allow to increase the efficiency of such light transforming systems. This review article presents the last achievements in the field of energy photoconverters based on photosynthetic systems.

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“…Cyanobacteria are investigated for their capability to transfer electrons to the extracellular environment in response to illumination [Pisciotta et al 2010]. This light-dependent electrogenic activity was, in contrast to the electrogenic activity of intensively studied chemotrophic bacteria such as G. sulferreducens, observed in the absence of any exogenous organic fuel and was driven entirely by the energy of light [Lovley 2008;Pisciotta et al 2010]. Although the biological function of this electrogenic activity is not yet clear and the yield of the electron harvesting has to be improved, the light-dependent electrogenic pathway appears to be an important electrical conduit between microorganisms and electronic devices.…”

Section: Optical Stimulation Of Micro-organisms Triggering An Electrmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthetic Biology and Microdevices

Venken

Marchal

Vanderleyden

2013

J. Emerg. Technol. Comput. Syst.

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Recent developments demonstrate that the combination of microbiology with micro-and nanoelectronics is a successful approach to develop new miniaturized sensing devices and other technologies. In the last decade, there is a shift from the optimization of the abiotic components, e.g. the chip, to the improvement of the processing capabilities of cells through genetic engineering. The synthetic biology approach will not only give rise to systems with new functionalities, but will also improve the robustness and speed of their response towards applied signals. To this end, the development of new genetic circuits has to be guided by computational design methods that enable to tune and optimize the circuit response. As the successful design of genetic circuits is highly dependent on the quality and reliability of its composing elements, intense characterization of standard biological parts will be crucial for an efficient rational design process in the development of new genetic circuits. Microengineered devices can thereby offer a new analytical approach for the study of complex biological parts and systems. By summarizing the recent techniques in creating new synthetic circuits and in integrating biology with microdevices, this review aims at emphasizing the power of combining synthetic biology with microfluidics and microelectronics.

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Light-Dependent Electrogenic Activity of Cyanobacteria

Cited by 222 publications

References 37 publications

Microbial methane production in oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake

Microbial methane production in oxygenated water column of an oligotrophic lake

Photoelectrochemical cells based on photosynthetic systems: a review

Synthetic Biology and Microdevices

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