Use of Shewanella oneidensis for Energy Conversion in Microbial Fuel Cells

Anaerobes are a unique class of organisms, they were able to survive the heavy bombardment of the Archean period by reducing various inorganic compounds to support their metabolism and drive respiration in the early Earth's oxygen poor environment. Of all the bacteria that evolved during this period, some of the most interesting ones were the exoelectrogens, which were able to transfer electrons using extracellular routes to a chemical that is not necessarily the immediate electron acceptor. This property allows them to function in microbial fuel cells, a sustainable technology that is being developed for simultaneous wastewater treatment and electrical power generation. There are still many limitations to overcome before microbial fuel cells can be implemented in real applications and fundamental knowledge of the biological processes behind the extra-cellular electron transfer mechanisms are still lacking. In this work, we will be presenting current research pertaining to Shewanella oneidensis MR-1. We also introduce the use of extreme conditions as a tool to investigate the mechanisms of biofilm formation and bacterial redox behavior of high pressure-adapted Shewanella oneidensis.