Geobacter sulfurreducens

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Geobacter sulfurreducens is a rod-shaped microbe with a gram-negative cell wall. Geobacter is known as a type of bacteria that is able to conduct levels of electricity, and the species G. sulfurreducens is also known as “electricigens” due to their ability to create an electric current and produce electricity. A study by Daniel Bond and Derek Lovley in 2003 showed that because of G. sulfurreducens’ ability to conduct electricity, there was a possibility of creating an effective and long lasting microbial fuel cell (MFC).{{Cite journal|last=Bond|first=Daniel R.|date=2003|title=Electricity Production by Geobacter sulfurreducens Attached to Electrodes.|journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology|volume=69|issue=3|pages=1548–1555|doi=10.1128/aem.69.3.1548-1555.2003|pmid=12620842|pmc=150094}} This study proved successful, as it was found that because G. sulfurreducens cells are successful at conducting electricity and changing electrons into electricity, it was also found that this made it possible to have electricity conducted for long periods of time. Due to these findings, organizations such as the World Bank have been heavily funding projects in countries such as Tanzania and Namibia in which they work to harness G. sulfurreducens to run on waste products in order to have electricity for lights and for the charging of batteries.

Geobacter sulfurreducens could be useful in bioremediation of uranium-contaminated groundwater.{{Cite journal |pmc = 3174638|year = 2011|last1 = Cologgi|first1 = D. L.|title = Extracellular reduction of uranium via Geobacter conductive pili as a protective cellular mechanism|journal = Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America|volume = 108|issue = 37|pages = 15248–15252|last2 = Lampa-Pastirk|first2 = S.|last3 = Speers|first3 = A. M.|last4 = Kelly|first4 = S. D.|last5 = Reguera|first5 = G.|pmid = 21896750|doi = 10.1073/pnas.1108616108|bibcode = 2011PNAS..10815248C|doi-access = free}}

Geobacter sulfurreducens consists of a genome with one single circular chromosome and that single chromosome contains 3,814,139 base pairs (bp).{{Cite journal|last1=Methé|first1=B. A.|last2=Nelson|first2=K. E.|last3=Eisen|first3=J. A.|last4=Paulsen|first4=I. T.|last5=Nelson|first5=W.|last6=Heidelberg|first6=J. F.|last7=Wu|first7=D.|last8=Wu|first8=M.|last9=Ward|first9=N.|date=2003|title=Genome of Geobacter sulfurreducens: Metal Reduction in Subsurface Environments|jstor=3835733|journal=Science|volume=302|issue=5652|pages=1967–1969|doi=10.1126/science.1088727|pmid=14671304|bibcode=2003Sci...302.1967M|citeseerx=10.1.1.186.3786|s2cid=38404097}} The fact that this microbe has a circular chromosome is a further indication that it is a normal prokaryote, identified as a bacterium. It is predicted that G. sulfurreducens contains 3466 coding sequences, with the average size of these coding sequences being 989 base pairs. The microbe contains a high number of c-type cytochromes, which are utilized for electron transport proteins. There is a hypothesis that due to its genomic make up, G. sulfurreducens is able to identify surfaces and can construct biofilms that are able to conduct electricity by utilizing its ability to transport electrons.{{Cite journal|last1=Chan|first1=Chi Ho|last2=Levar|first2=Caleb E.|last3=Jiménez-Otero|first3=Fernanda|last4=Bond|first4=Daniel R.|date=2017-10-01|title=Genome Scale Mutational Analysis of Geobacter sulfurreducens Reveals Distinct Molecular Mechanisms for Respiration and Sensing of Poised Electrodes versus Fe(III) Oxides|journal=Journal of Bacteriology|language=en|volume=199|issue=19|pages=e00340–17|doi=10.1128/JB.00340-17|issn=0021-9193|pmid=28674067|pmc=5585712}}

Overall, the genomic make up of G. sulfurreducens appears to support the current understanding of the ways in which the microbe is able to metabolize easily and transport electrons. An interesting part of the microbe's genomic makeup, is that it is missing an enzyme called formyltetrahydrofolate synthetase, also referred to as FTS. This is relevant, because FTS is utilized to help the metabolic process – Which is a key function of G. sulfurreducens. Because FTS is an enzyme that is missing, G. sulfurreducens instead utilizes the reverse electron transport process and completely ignores the missing FTS enzyme.

• Bacterial nanowires#Implications and potential applications

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• {{cite journal |vauthors=Bond DR, Lovley DR |title=Electricity production by Geobacter sulfurreducens attached to electrodes |journal=Applied and Environmental Microbiology |volume=69 |issue=3 |pages=1548–55 |date=March 2003 |pmid=12620842 |pmc=150094 |doi= 10.1128/aem.69.3.1548-1555.2003}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Butler|first1=Jessica E|last2=Young|first2=Nelson D|last3=Aklujkar|first3=Muktak|last4=Lovley|first4=Derek R|title=Comparative genomic analysis of Geobacter sulfurreducens KN400, a strain with enhanced capacity for extracellular electron transfer and electricity production|journal=BMC Genomics|volume=13|issue=1|year=2012|pages=471|issn=1471-2164|doi=10.1186/1471-2164-13-471|pmid=22967216|pmc=3495685 |doi-access=free }}
• {{cite journal|last1=Esteve-Nunez|first1=Abraham|last2=Rothermich|first2=Mary|last3=Sharma|first3=Manju|last4=Lovley|first4=Derek|title=Growth of Geobacter sulfurreducens under nutrient-limiting conditions in continuous culture|journal=Environmental Microbiology|volume=7|issue=5|year=2005|pages=641–648|issn=1462-2912|doi=10.1111/j.1462-2920.2005.00731.x|pmid=15819846}}
• {{cite journal|last1=Yang|first1=Tae Hoon|last2=Coppi|first2=Maddalena V|last3=Lovley|first3=Derek R|last4=Sun|first4=Jun|title=Metabolic response of Geobacter sulfurreducens towards electron donor/acceptor variation|journal=Microbial Cell Factories|volume=9|issue=1|year=2010|pages=90|issn=1475-2859|doi=10.1186/1475-2859-9-90|pmid=21092215|pmc=3002917 |doi-access=free }}

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• [http://bacdive.dsmz.de/index.php?search=5792&submit=Search Type strain of Geobacter sulfurreducens at BacDive - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase]

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Category:Bacteria described in 1994

Category:Thermodesulfobacteriota