Synthetic Biology Toolkit for a New Species of Pseudomonas Promissory for Electricity Generation in Microbial Fuel Cells

Abstract

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer sustainable solutions for various biotechnological applications and are a crucial area of research in biotechnology. MFCs can effectively treat various refuse, such as wastewater and biodiesel waste by decomposing organic matter and generating electricity. Certain Pseudomonas species possess extracellular electron transfer (EET) pathways, enabling them to transfer electrons from organic compounds to the MFC’s anode. Moreover, Pseudomonas species can grow under low-oxygen conditions, which is advantageous considering that the electron transfer process in an MFC typically leads to reduced oxygen levels at the anode. This study focuses on evaluating MFCs inoculated with a new Pseudomonas species grown with 1 g.L−1 glycerol, a common byproduct of biodiesel production. Pseudomonas sp. BJa5 exhibited a maximum power density of 39 mW.m−2. Also, the observed voltammograms and genome analysis indicate the potential production of novel redox mediators by BJa5. Additionally, we investigated the bacterium’s potential as a synthetic biology non-model chassis. Through testing various genetic parts, including constitutive promoters, replication origins and cargos using pSEVA vectors as a scaffold, we assessed the bacterium’s suitability. Overall, our findings offer valuable insights into utilizing Pseudomonas spp. BJa5 as a novel chassis for MFCs. Synthetic biology approaches can further enhance the performance of this bacterium in MFCs, providing avenues for improvement.

Development of SynBio Tools for Pseudomonas chlororaphis: A Versatile Non-Pathogenic Bacterium Host

“…Some of the most studied Pseudomonas species are P. aureoginosa, P. fluorescens, P. syringeae, P. putida, and P. chlororaphis. These species are usually found in harsh environments and are considered to be stress-tolerant [9].…”