Strategic improvement of Shewanella oneidensis for biocatalysis: Approach to media refinement and scalable application in a microbial electrochemical system

Microbial electrochemical systems offer a sustainable method for the conversion of chemical energy into electrical energy or hydrogen and the production of valuable compounds, contributing to the development of a bio-based economy. This study aimed to enhance the performance of anodic bioelectrochemical systems by improving the current density of Shewanella oneidensis as a biocatalyst through strain modification and medium refinement. The genetic modification, combining the prophage deletion and overexpression of the speC gene, resulted in a 4.2-fold increase in current density compared to the wild type. Furthermore, medium refinement and incorporating riboflavin, led to an additional 5.7-fold increase in current density. The application of the modified strain and medium in a scalable microbial electrolysis cell resulted in a current density of 1.2 A m-², similar to what was achieved previously with an S. oneidensis and Geobacter sulfurreducens co-culture, substantiating the substantial performance increase for a pure culture of S. oneidensis. Furthermore, S. oneidensis was shown to grow in medium containing up to 500 mM sodium chloride and increasing the salt concentration to 400 mM had a minor influence on growth but significantly lowered the cell voltage of the MEC system. [Display omitted] •Genetic engineering of Shewanella oneidensis led to 4.2-fold increase in current density compared to the wildtype.•Refinement of the medium further improved the current production of 5.7-fold.•Current production of the genetically engineered strain and refined medium resulted in 1.2 A m-2 in an up-scaled MEC.•Increased salt concentration led to higher conductivity of the medium resulting in lower cell voltage of the up-scaled MEC.