Metagenomics Meets Electrochemistry: Utilizing the Huge Catalytic Potential From the Uncultured Microbial Majority for Energy-Storage

Adam N, Schlicht S, Han Y, Bechelany M, Bachmann J, Perner M (2020)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2020

Journal

Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology Frontiers Media

Book Volume: 8

Article Number: 567

DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00567

Abstract

Hydrogen can in the future serve as an advantageous carrier of renewable energy if its production via water electrolysis and utilization in fuel cells are realized with high energy efficiency and non-precious electrocatalysts. In an unprecedented novel combination of structured electrodes with hydrogen converting enzymes from the uncultured and thus largely inaccessible microbial majority (>99%) we address this challenge. The geometrically defined electrodes with large specific surface area allow for low overpotentials and high energy efficiencies to be achieved. Enzymatic hydrogen evolution electrocatalysts are used as alternatives to noble metals. The enzymes are harnessed from the environmental microbial DNA (metagenomes) of hydrothermal vents exhibiting dynamic hydrogen and oxygen concentrations and are recovered via a recently developed novel activity-based screening tool. The screen enables us to target currently unrecognized hydrogenase enzymes from metagenomes via direct expression in a surrogate host microorganism. This circumvents the need for cultivation of the source organisms, the primary bottleneck when harnessing enzymes from microbes. One hydrogen converting metagenome-derived enzyme exhibited high activity and unusually high stability when dispersed on a TiO2-coated polyacrylonitrile fiber electrode. Our results highlight the tremendous potential of enzymes derived from uncultured microorganisms for applications in energy conversion and storage technologies.

Authors with CRIS profile

Stefanie Schlicht Lehrstuhl für Chemistry of thin film materials Julien Bachmann Lehrstuhl für Chemistry of thin film materials

Involved external institutions

Universität Hamburg (UHH) DE Germany (DE) Institut Européen des Membranes (IEM) FR France (FR)

How to cite

APA:

Adam, N., Schlicht, S., Han, Y., Bechelany, M., Bachmann, J., & Perner, M. (2020). Metagenomics Meets Electrochemistry: Utilizing the Huge Catalytic Potential From the Uncultured Microbial Majority for Energy-Storage. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 8. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2020.00567

MLA:

Adam, Nicole, et al. "Metagenomics Meets Electrochemistry: Utilizing the Huge Catalytic Potential From the Uncultured Microbial Majority for Energy-Storage." Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 8 (2020).

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