Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 9, 2026

Self-standing Electrochemical Set-up to Enrich Anode-respiring Bacteria On-site
Published on: July 24, 2018
Electron-transfer-driven spatial optimisation of anaerobic consortia for efficient methanogenesis: Neglected
Haoyu Liu1, Ying Xu2, Xiaohu Dai2
1State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China.
Abstract:
The inductive effect of conductive materials (CMs) on enhancing methanogenesis metabolism has been overlooked. Herein, we highlight role of CMs in inducing the spatial optimisation of methanogenic consortia by altering the Lewis acid-base (AB) interactions within microbial aggregates. In the presence of CMs and after their removal, the methane production and methane proportion in biogas significantly increase, with no significant difference between the two situations. Analyses of interactions between CMs and extracellular polymer substances (EPSs) with and without D2O reveal that CMs promote release and transfer potential of electron in EPSs, which induce and enhance the role of water molecules being primarily as proton acceptors in the hydrogen bonding between EPSs and water, thereby changing the electron-donor- and electron-acceptor-based AB interactions. Investigations of succession dynamics of microbial communities, co-occurrence networks, and metagenomics further indicate that electron transfer drives the microbial spatial optimisation for efficient methanogenesis through intensive interspecies interactions.
More Related Videos
07:31Author Spotlight: Designing Simple and Inexpensive Techniques to Grow Methane-Oxidizing Bacteria in the Laboratory
Published on: September 6, 2024
10:23Characterizing Mediated Extracellular Electron Transfer in Lactic Acid Bacteria with a Three-Electrode, Two-Chamber Bioelectrochemical System
Published on: August 23, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Metabolism of Chemolithotrophs
Microbial Mats
Microbial Interactions: Mutualism
Microbes and Methanogenesis
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
Microbial Fuel Cells