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Pre-genomic, genomic and post-genomic study of microbial communities involved in bioenergy

Nature Reviews Microbiology volume 6, pages 604–612 (2008)Cite this article

Abstract

Microorganisms can produce renewable energy in large quantities and without damaging the environment or disrupting food supply. The microbial communities must be robust and self-stabilizing, and their essential syntrophies must be managed. Pre-genomic, genomic and post-genomic tools can provide crucial information about the structure and function of these microbial communities. Applying these tools will help accelerate the rate at which microbial bioenergy processes move from intriguing science to real-world practice.

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Figure 1: Photosynthesis creates biomass that can be converted to renewable bioenergy.
Figure 2: H2 is a central focus for syntrophy in microbial conversion processes.
Figure 3: Syntrophy of autotrophs and heterotrophs in a microbial approach to photosynthetic bioenergy.

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Acknowledgements

The authors have been supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences NIEHS (grant number 1R01ES015445), the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, Science Foundation Arizona, OpenCEL and NZ Legacy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bruce E. Rittmann, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown and Rolf U. Halden are at the Center for Environmental Biotechnology, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, PO BOX 875701 Tempe, Arizona 85287-5701, USA.,

    Bruce E. Rittmann, Rosa Krajmalnik-Brown & Rolf U. Halden

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Correspondence to Bruce E. Rittmann.

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DATABASES

Entrez Genome

Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA

Methanocaldococcus jannaschii DSM 2661

Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803

Entrez Genome Project

Desulfovibrio vulgaris

Rhodobacter sphaeroides

FURTHER INFORMATION

Bruce E. Rittmann's homepage

Joint Genome Institute (Why Sequence a Biogas-Producing Microbial Community?)

Glossary

Carbon neutral

The use of carbon dioxide that was released into the atmosphere from the recent consumption of fuel which results in a short-term carbon cycle rather than the net addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Hydraulic retention time

The average time that water that is applied to the system resides in the system. The hydraulic retention time is computed as V/Q, in which V is the system volume and Q is the fluid flow rate.

Renewable

In the context of energy, an ultimate source that is available indefinitely and is not depleted. Sunlight is the main renewable energy source.

Self-stabilization

Natural recovery of a desired function of a microbial community following a perturbation.

Specific growth rate

The growth rate of biomass (for example, grams of dry weight per day) divided by the total amount of biomass in the system (for example, grams of dry weight).

Syntrophy

Two or more different types of microorganisms that combine their metabolic capabilities to catabolize a substrate that cannot be catabolized by either microorganism alone.

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Rittmann, B., Krajmalnik-Brown, R. & Halden, R. Pre-genomic, genomic and post-genomic study of microbial communities involved in bioenergy. Nat Rev Microbiol 6, 604–612 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrmicro1939

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