Improved Microbial Fuel Cell Performance by Engineering E. coli for Enhanced Affinity to Gold

Microorganism affinity for surfaces can be controlled by introducing material binding motifs into proteins such as fimbrial tip and outer membrane proteins. Here, controlled surface affinity is used to manipulate and enhance electrical power production in a typical bioelectrochemical system, a microbial fuel cell (MFC). Specifically, gold-binding motifs of various affinity were introduced into two scaffolds in Escherichia coli: eCPX, a modified version of outer membrane protein X (OmpX), and FimH, the tip protein of the fimbriae. The behavior of these strains on gold electrodes was examined in small-scale (240 mu L) MFCs and 40 mL U-tube MFCs. A clear correlation between the affinity of a strain for a gold surface and the peak voltage produced during MFC operation is shown in the small-scale MFCs; strains displaying peptides with high affinity for gold generate potentials greater than 80 mV while strains displaying peptides with minimal affinity to gold produce potentials around 30 mV. In the larger MFCs, E. coli strains with high affinity to gold exhibit power densities up to 0.27 mW/m(2), approximately a 10-fold increase over unengineered strains lacking displayed peptides. Moreover, in the case of the modified FimH strains, this increased power production is sustained for five days.

Automated summary

Microorganism surface affinity can be controlled by introducing material binding motifs into proteins, enhancing electrical power production in a microbial fuel cell. Strains with higher affinity for gold surfaces generate higher peak voltages and power densities in MFCs, showing a clear correlation between surface affinity and power generation.