Efficient extracellular electron transfer (EET) of exoelectrogens
is critical for practical applications of various bioelectrochemical
systems. However, the low efficiency of electron transfer remains
a major bottleneck. In this study, a modular engineering strategy,
including broadening the sources of the intracellular electron pool,
enhancing intracellular nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) regeneration,
and promoting electron release from electron pools, was developed
to redirect electron flux into the electron transfer chain in Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. Among them, four genes
include gene SO1522 encoding a lactate transporter
for broadening the sources of the intracellular electron pool, gene gapA encoding a glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase
and gene mdh encoding a malate dehydrogenase in the
central carbon metabolism for enhancing intracellular NADH regeneration,
and gene ndh encoding NADH dehydrogenase on the inner
membrane for releasing electrons from intracellular electron pools
into the electron-transport chain. Upon assembly of the four genes,
electron flux was directly redirected from the electron donor to the
electron-transfer chain, achieving 62% increase in intracellular NADH
levels, which resulted in a 3.5-fold enhancement in the power density
from 59.5 ± 3.2 mW/m2 (wild type) to 270.0 ±
12.7 mW/m2 (recombinant strain). This study confirmed that
redirecting electron flux from the electron donor to the electron-transfer
chain is a viable approach to enhance the EET rate of S. oneidensis.