人工电活性微生物菌群的设计与应用

包括产电菌群和噬电菌群的人工电活性微生物菌群(synthetic electroactive microbial consortia)通过菌种间的物质能量级联反应介导化学能与(光)电能间的相互转化,其可利用底物来源广泛、双向电子传递速率快、环境稳定性强,在清洁电能开发、废水处理、环境修复、生物固碳固氮以及生物燃料、无机纳米材料、高聚物等高值化学品合成等多个领域具有广泛的应用前景。针对人工电活性微生物菌群设计、构建与应用,本文总结电活性微生物菌群界面电子传递和种间电子传递机制,概括基于“劳力分工”原理设计构建人工电活性微生物菌群物质能量级联反应基本架构,总结菌群关系与菌群生态位优化等人工电活性微生物菌群工程化策略,分类列举人工电活性微生物菌群在利用廉价生物质产电、生物光伏固碳产电,光驱噬电生物菌群固氮等相关应用。最后对人工电活性微生物菌群未来研究方向进行了展望。

Design and applications of synthetic electroactive microbial consortia

Synthetic electroactive microbial consortia, which include exoelectrogenic and electrotrophic communities, catalyze the exchange of chemical and electrical energy in cascade metabolic reactions among different microbial strains. In comparison to a single strain, a community-based organisation that assigns tasks to multiple strains enables a broader feedstock spectrum, faster bi-directional electron transfer, and greater robustness. Therefore, the electroactive microbial consortia held great promise for a variety of applications such as bioelectricity and biohydrogen production, wastewater treatment, bioremediation, carbon and nitrogen fixation, and synthesis of biofuels, inorganic nanomaterials, and polymers. This review firstly summarized the mechanisms of biotic-abiotic interfacial electron transfer as well as biotic-biotic interspecific electron transfer in synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. This was followed by introducing the network of substance and energy metabolism in a synthetic electroactive microbial consortia designed by using the "division-of-labor" principle. Then, the strategies for engineering synthetic electroactive microbial consortiums were explored, which included intercellular communications optimization and ecological niche optimization. We further discussed the specific applications of synthetic electroactive microbial consortia. For instance, the synthetic exoelectrogenic communities were applied to biomass generation power technology, biophotovoltaics for the generation of renewable energy and the fixation of CO₂. Moreover, the synthetic electrotrophic communities were applied to light-driven N₂ fixation. Finally, this review prospected future research of the synthetic electroactive microbial consortia.