High-throughput 96-well bioelectrochemical platform for screening of electroactive microbial consortia

Abstract

The development of bioelectrochemical systems reinforces the necessity for the identification and engineering of electroactive bacteria with improved performance and novel biochemical properties. In this study, using a newly designed 96-well-plate array of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), we compared the electroactive capabilities of microbial communities derived from four mine drainages. The maximum power density of individual wells after two weeks of inoculation was 102 mW/m3, whereas the maximum current density was 1.6 A/m3. Transferring communities from individual wells into larger MFCs comprising low (20 mg/L) and high (200 mg/L) concentrations of Cu yielded maximum power densities of 445 and 58 mW/m3, respectively, with up to a 3.7 fold decrease in Cu2+ ions within 24 h. Electrochemical data analysis revealed that microbial consortia can be distinguished based on their electrochemical profiles. Our results showed that a 96-well MFC array is a suitable platform for high-throughput screening, selection, and subsequent source of enriched electroactive consortia. The quantitative and comparative analysis followed by principal component analysis indicated that the initial environmental conditions, as well as physical and chemical parameters of the lakes were crucial to develop an efficient electroactive community. Further applications of the proposed platform include genetic engineering, phenotype screening, and mutagenesis studies of both microbial communities and single cultures. This is the first time that a high-throughput MFC platform is used to evaluate the performance of multiple electroactive consortia towards Cu removal.The development of bioelectrochemical systems reinforces the necessity for the identification and engineering of electroactive bacteria with improved performance and novel biochemical properties. In this study, using a newly designed 96-well-plate array of microbial fuel cells (MFCs), we compared the electroactive capabilities of microbial communities derived from four mine drainages. The maximum power density of individual wells after two weeks of inoculation was 102 mW/m3, whereas the maximum current density was 1.6 A/m3. Transferring communities from individual wells into larger MFCs comprising low (20 mg/L) and high (200 mg/L) concentrations of Cu yielded maximum power densities of 445 and 58 mW/m3, respectively, with up to a 3.7 fold decrease in Cu2+ ions within 24 h. Electrochemical data analysis revealed that microbial consortia can be distinguished based on their electrochemical profiles. Our results showed that a 96-well MFC array is a suitable platform for high-throughput screening, selection, and subsequent source of enriched electroactive consortia. The quantitative and comparative analysis followed by principal component analysis indicated that the initial environmental conditions, as well as physical and chemical parameters of the lakes were crucial to develop an efficient electroactive community. Further applications of the proposed platform include genetic engineering, phenotype screening, and mutagenesis studies of both microbial communities and single cultures. This is the first time that a high-throughput MFC platform is used to evaluate the performance of multiple electroactive consortia towards Cu removal.