Geobacter anodireducens sp. nov., an exoelectrogenic microbe in bioelectrochemical systems

A previously isolated exoelectrogenic bacterium, strain SD-1(T), was further characterized and identified as a representative of a novel species of the genus Geobacter. Strain SD-1(T) was Gram-negative, aerotolerant, anaerobic, non-spore-forming, non-fermentative and non-motile. Cells were short, curved rods (0.8-1.3 µm long and 0.3 µm in diameter). Growth of strain SD-1(T) was observed at 15-42 °C and pH 6.0-8.5, with optimal growth at 30-35 °C and pH 7. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences indicated that the isolate was a member of the genus Geobacter, with the closest known relative being Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA(T) (98% similarity). Similar to other members of the genus Geobacter, strain SD-1(T) used soluble or insoluble Fe(III) as the sole electron acceptor coupled with the oxidation of acetate. However, SD-1(T) could not reduce fumarate as an electron acceptor with acetate oxidization, which is an important physiological trait for G. sulfurreducens. Moreover, SD-1(T) could grow in media containing as much as 3% NaCl, while G. sulfurreducens PCA(T) can tolerate just half this concentration, and this difference in salt tolerance was even more obvious when cultivated in bioelectrochemical systems. DNA-DNA hybridization analysis of strain SD-1(T) and its closest relative, G. sulfurreducens ATCC 51573(T), showed a relatedness of 61.6%. The DNA G+C content of strain SD-1(T) was 58.9 mol%. Thus, on the basis of these characteristics, strain SD-1(T) was not assigned to G. sulfurreducens, and was instead classified in the genus Geobacter as a representative of a novel species. The name Geobacter anodireducens sp. nov. is proposed, with the type strain SD-1(T) ( = CGMCC 1.12536(T) = KCTC 4672(T)).