Genome scale mutational analysis of Geobacter sulfurreducens reveals distinct molecular mechanisms for respiration of poised electrodes vs. Fe(III) oxides

Abstract

Geobacter sulfurreducens generates electricity by coupling intracellular oxidation of organic acids with electron transfer to the cell exterior, while maintaining a conductive connection to electrode surfaces. This unique ability has been attributed to the bacteriums capacity to also respire extracellular terminal electron acceptors that require contact, such as insoluble metal oxides. To expand the molecular understanding of electricity generation mechanisms, we constructed Geobacter sulfurreducens transposon mutant (Tn-Seq) libraries for growth with soluble fumarate or an electrode surface as the electron acceptor. Mutant libraries with over 33,000 unique transposon insertions and an average of 9 transposon insertions per kb allowed identification of 1,214 genomic features essential for growth with fumarate, including over 270 genes with one or more functional homologs that could not be resolved by previous annotation or in silico modeling. Tn-Seq analysis of electrode-grown cells identified mutations in over 50 genes encoding cytochromes, processing systems for proline-rich proteins, sensory systems, extracellular structures, polysaccharides, metabolic enzymes and hypothetical proteins that caused at least a 50% reduction in apparent growth rate. Scarless deletion mutants of genes identified via Tn-Seq revealed a new putative c-type cytochrome conduit complex (extABCD) essential for growth with electrodes, which was not required for Fe(III)-oxide reduction. In addition, mutants lacking components of a putative methyl-accepting chemotaxis/cyclic dinucleotide sensing network (esnABCD) were defective in electrode growth, but grew normally with Fe(III)-oxides. These results suggest that G. sulfurreducens possesses distinct mechanisms for recognition, colonization, and reduction of electrodes compared to other environmental electron acceptors.