Dec 5, 2024
8:00pm - 10:00pm
Hynes, Level 1, Hall A
Yongchao Xie1,Zachary Schuman1,Thomas Wu1,Junyoung Park1,Chong Liu1
University of California, Los Angeles1
Yongchao Xie1,Zachary Schuman1,Thomas Wu1,Junyoung Park1,Chong Liu1
University of California, Los Angeles1
A hybrid approach combining water-splitting electrochemistry and H
2-oxidizing, CO
2-fixing microorganisms offers a promising solution of producing value-added chemicals from sunlight, water, and air. The classic wisdom without thorough examination to date assumes that the electrochemistry in such a H
2-mediated process does not affect microbial behavior. Here we report unexpected metabolic rewiring induced by water-splitting electrochemistry in H
2-oxidizing acetogenic bacterium
Sporomusa ovata that challenges such a classic view. We found that the planktonic
S. ovata in the materials-biology hybrids is more efficient in utilizing reducing equivalent for ATP generation and hence CO
2 fixation to acetate than in cells grown with H
2 supply, supported by integrated metabolomic and proteomic studies. These observations unravel previously underappreciated materials’ impact on microbial metabolism in seemingly simply H
2-mediated charge transfer between biotic and abiotic components. Such a deeper understanding at the materials-biology interface will foster advanced design of hybrid systems for sustainable chemical transformation.