Interspecies microbial interactions in bioelectrochemical system and biodegradation: A state of the art review

Microbial mutualistic interaction or synthetic microbiology evolves closely from the concept of cell-cell relations in a complex microbial community, which plays a crucial role in waste degradation, bioremediation, and bioenergy generation. Recently, the application of synthetic microbial consortia has renewed attention in the field of bioelectrochemistry. In the past few years, the influence of microbial mutualistic interaction has been extensively stud-ied in bioelectrochemical systems (BES), especially in microbial fuel cells (MFCs). Nevertheless, synthetic microbial consortia were found to exhibit superior bioremediation performance compared to single strains of microbes for poly-cyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, synthetic dyes, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other organic pollutants compared to the respective single microbial species. However, a comprehensive understanding of intermicrobial interactions, specifi-cally the metabolic pathways in a mixed-cultured microbial community system, is still lacking. In this study, we have comprehensively reviewed the possible pathways for executing intermicrobial communication within a complex microbial community consortium with various underlying pathways. The influence of mutualistic interactions on the power generation of MFCs and wastewater biodegradation has been widely reviewed. We argue that this study would motivate the design and construction of potential synthetic microbial consortia to stimulate the extraction of bioelec-tricity and the biodegradation of contaminants.

Automated summary

Microbial mutualistic interaction or synthetic microbiology, derived from the concept of cell-cell relations in a complex microbial community, has important applications in waste degradation, bioremediation, and bioenergy generation. Synthetic microbial consortia have shown superior performance in bioremediation compared to single strains of microbes for various pollutants. However, a comprehensive understanding of intermicrobial interactions and metabolic pathways in mixed-cultured microbial community systems is still lacking. This study reviews the possible pathways for intermicrobial communication and discusses the influence of mutualistic interactions on power generation and wastewater biodegradation.