Electro-fermentation triggering population selection in mixed-culture glycerol fermentation

Electro-fermentation is a new technique that could be used to influence the global metabolism in mixed-culture fermentation. In this study, a mixed-culture cathodic electro-fermentation of glycerol was investigated. Both microbial community structure and metabolic patterns were altered when compared to standard fermentation. This microbial population shift was more significant when the working electrodes were pre-colonized by Geobacter sulfurreducens, before electro-fermentation. The electro-fermenting microbial community was more efficient for producing 1,3-propanediol with an improved yield of 10% when compared with fermentation controls. Such improvement did not require high energy and total electron input represented < 1% of the total electron equivalents provided only by glycerol. A linear model was developed to estimate the individual metabolic pattern of each operational taxonomic unit. Application of this model compared to the experimental results suggests that the changes in global metabolism were supported by bacterial population selection rather than individual metabolism shift. This study shows for the first time that both fermentation pattern and bacterial community composition can be influenced by electro-fermentation conditions.