Electrode Colonization by the Feammox Bacterium Acidimicrobiaceae sp Strain A6

Acidimicrobiaceae sp. strain A6 (A6), from the Actinobacteria phylum, was recently identified as a microorganism that can carry out anaerobic ammonium (NH4+) oxidation coupled to iron reduction, a process also known as Feammox. Being an iron-reducing bacterium, A6 was studied as a potential electrode-reducing bacterium that may transfer electrons extracellularly onto electrodes while gaining energy from NH4+ oxidation. Actinobacteria species have been overlooked as electrogenic bacteria, and the importance of lithoautotrophic iron reducers as electrode-reducing bacteria at anodes has not been addressed. By installing electrodes in the soil of a forested riparian wetland where A6 thrives, in soil columns in the laboratory, and in A6-bioaugmented constructed wetland (CW) mesocosms and by operating microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) with pure A6 culture, the characteristics and performances of this organism as an electrode-reducing bacterium candidate were investigated. In this study, we show that Acidimicrobiaceae sp. strain A6, a lithoautotrophic bacterium, is capable of colonizing electrodes under controlled conditions. In addition, A6 appears to be an electrode-reducing bacterium, since current production was boosted shortly after the CWs were seeded with enrichment A6 culture and current production was detected in MECs operated with pure A6, with the anode as the sole electron acceptor and NH4+ as the sole electron donor. IMPORTANCE Most studies on electrogenic microorganisms have focused on the most abundant heterotrophs, while other microorganisms also commonly present in electrode microbial communities, such as Actinobacteria strains, have been overlooked. The novel Acidimicrobiaceae sp. strain A6 (Actinobacteria) is an iron-reducing bacterium that can colonize the surface of anodes in sediments and is linked to electrical current production, making it an electrode-reducing bacterium. Furthermore, A6 can carry out anaerobic ammonium oxidation coupled to iron reduction. Therefore, findings from this study open the possibility of using electrodes instead of iron as electron acceptors, as a means to promote A6 to treat NH4+-containing wastewater more efficiently. Altogether, this study expands our knowledge of electrogenic bacteria and opens the possibility of developing Feammox-based technologies coupled to bioelectric systems for the treatment of NH4+ and other contaminants in anoxic systems.