Biocathode extracellular electron transfer (EET) may be exploited for biotechnology applications, including microbially mediated O 2 reduction in microbial fuel cells and microbial electrosynthesis. However, biocathode mechanistic studies needed to improve or engineer functionality have been limited to a few select species that form sparse, homogeneous biofilms characterized by little or no growth. Attempts to cultivate isolates from biocathode environmental enrichments often fail due to a lack of some advantage provided by life in a consortium, highlighting the need to study and understand biocathode consortia in situ. Here, we present metagenomic and metaproteomic characterization of a previously described biocathode biofilm (؉310 mV versus a standard hydrogen electrode [SHE]) enriched from seawater, reducing O 2 , and presumably fixing CO 2 for biomass generation. Metagenomics identified 16 distinct cluster genomes, 15 of which could be assigned at the family or genus level and whose abundance was roughly divided between Alpha-and Gammaproteobacteria. A total of 644 proteins were identified from shotgun metaproteomics and have been deposited in the the ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD001045. Cluster genomes were used to assign the taxonomic identities of 599 proteins, with Marinobacter, Chromatiaceae, and Labrenzia the most represented. RubisCO and phosphoribulokinase, along with 9 other Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle proteins, were identified from Chromatiaceae. In addition, proteins similar to those predicted for iron oxidation pathways of known iron-oxidizing bacteria were observed for Chromatiaceae. These findings represent the first description of putative EET and CO 2 fixation mechanisms for a selfregenerating, self-sustaining multispecies biocathode, providing potential targets for functional engineering, as well as new insights into biocathode EET pathways using proteomics.
Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) use microorganisms as catalysts to drive complex electrochemical reactions, such as electricity generation by microbial fuel cells (MFCs) (1), wastewater treatment (2), and microbial electrosynthesis (3-6), that would not be possible without living cells. The term "biocathode" refers to a biofilm, constituted of a single organism or microbial consortium, that has formed on the cathode of a BES and consumes electrons (e Ϫ ). Cathodes hold great potential as a stable electron source to drive microbial metabolism (7); however, little is known about the underlying extracellular electron transfer (EET) pathways that could be exploited for biocathode functional engineering. Although biocathode EET has been demonstrated for a variety of microorganisms, including acetogens (5) and a methanogenic archaeon (6), studies aimed at identifying EET conduits from the electrode to cells have mostly been confined to the model organisms Geobacter (8) and Shewanella (9), due to the massive effort put forth to understand how these iron-reducing bacteria are able to catalyze EET at bioanodes (10-12). The ability of iron-...