Investigating Variability in Microbial Fuel Cells
Investigating Variability in Microbial Fuel Cells
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DOI：
10.1128/aem.02181-22
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发表时间：
2023-02
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
D. D. Leicester-D.;Sam Settle;C. McCann;E. Heidrich
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
D. D. Leicester-D.;Sam Settle;C. McCann;E. Heidrich
虽然在微生物燃料电池领域进行了研究，但得出了一个重要且具有广泛影响力的结论，即当在复制条件下在复制反应器中使用混合微生物时，不同的社区能够出现不同水平的新陈代谢。迄今为止，很少有研究关注这一点，甚至报道，大多数研究使用两个或三个反应堆，其中没有完全观察到这种现象。摘要在科学研究中，复制品应重复，相同的条件应产生非常相似的结果，使参数进行测试。然而，在使用真实的世界混合接种物来产生新的“适应”群落的微生物实验中，这种复制很难实现。真实世界微生物系统的多样性是巨大的，当这种多样性的子样本被放置到反应容器或表面上以产生生物膜时，随机过程发生，这意味着这些新社区中存在异质性。子样本越小，这种异质性可能越大。微生物燃料电池通常在非常小的实验室规模下操作，并且依赖于特定的群落，所述群落必须包括产电细菌，已知在大多数天然接种物中丰度低。微生物燃料电池（MFC）提供了一个独特的机会，调查和量化的变化，因为他们产生电流时，他们代谢，这可以在真实的时间测量的社区发展。在这项研究中，我们构建并测试了28个副本MFC，并在相同的条件下运行它们。结果表明，目前生产的速度和数量存在很大差异。这种变异性延续到随后的喂养回合，无论是否存在新的哺乳动物。为了控制这种可变性，使用已确定的“好”和“坏”反应器对反应器进行重新测试。然而，这并没有导致复制生物膜，这表明有一个空间以及组成控制生物膜的形成。重要性本研究虽然是在微生物燃料电池领域进行的，但得出了一个重要且具有广泛影响力的结论，即当在复制条件下在复制反应器中使用混合菌时，不同的群落能够产生不同水平的代谢。迄今为止，很少有研究关注这一点，甚至报道，大多数研究使用两个或三个反应堆，其中没有完全观察到这种现象。发表复制品不复制的数据将是研究理解这一基本微生物过程的重要而勇敢的第一步。
The research presented, although carried out in the area of microbial fuel cells, reaches an important and broadly impacting conclusion that when using mixed inoculate in replica reactors under replicated conditions, different communities emerge capable of different levels of metabolism. To date there has been very little research focusing on this, or even reporting it, with most studies using duplicate or triplicate reactors, in which this phenomenon is not fully observed. ABSTRACT In scientific studies, replicas should replicate, and identical conditions should produce very similar results which enable parameters to be tested. However, in microbial experiments which use real world mixed inocula to generate a new “adapted” community, this replication is very hard to achieve. The diversity within real-world microbial systems is huge, and when a subsample of this diversity is placed into a reactor vessel or onto a surface to create a biofilm, stochastic processes occur, meaning there is heterogeneity within these new communities. The smaller the subsample, the greater this heterogeneity is likely to be. Microbial fuel cells are typically operated at a very small laboratory scale and rely on specific communities which must include electrogenic bacteria, known to be of low abundance in most natural inocula. Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) offer a unique opportunity to investigate and quantify variability as they produce current when they metabolize, which can be measured in real time as the community develops. In this research, we built and tested 28 replica MFCs and ran them under identical conditions. The results showed high variability in terms of the rate and amount of current production. This variability perpetuated into subsequent feeding rounds, both with and without the presence of new inoculate. In an attempt to control this variability, reactors were reseeded using established “good” and “bad” reactors. However, this did not result in replica biofilms, suggesting there is a spatial as well as a compositional control over biofilm formation. IMPORTANCE The research presented, although carried out in the area of microbial fuel cells, reaches an important and broadly impacting conclusion that when using mixed inoculate in replica reactors under replicated conditions, different communities emerge capable of different levels of metabolism. To date there has been very little research focusing on this, or even reporting it, with most studies using duplicate or triplicate reactors, in which this phenomenon is not fully observed. Publishing data in which replicas do not replicate will be an important and brave first step in the research into understanding this fundamental microbial process.