Abstract

Bacteria of the genus Shewanella are known for their versatile electron-accepting capacities, which allow them to couple the decomposition of organic matter to the reduction of the various terminal electron acceptors that they encounter in their stratified environments. Owing to their diverse metabolic capabilities, shewanellae are important for carbon cycling and have considerable potential for the remediation of contaminated environments and use in microbial fuel cells. Systems-level analysis of the model species Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 and other members of this genus has provided new insights into the signal-transduction proteins, regulators, and metabolic and respiratory subsystems that govern the remarkable versatility of the shewanellae.

Author affiliations

1. Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA.
2. Center for Microbial Ecology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48824, USA.
3. Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA.
4. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA.
5. Burnham Institute for Medical Research, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
6. Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
7. Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, Texas 76019, USA.
8. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53211, USA.
9. Josephine Bay Paul Center for Comparative Molecular Biology and Evolution, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA.
10. Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemical Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Geological and Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305, USA.
11. Joint Institute for Computational Sciences, The University of Tennessee — Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831, USA.

Correspondence to: James K. Fredrickson¹ Email: jim.fredrickson@pnl.gov

Correspondence to: James M. Tiedje² Email: tiedjej@msu.edu

Published online 7 July 2008

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