Electroactive microorganisms from mouse feces

The gut microbiome is not only an indicator of different pathologies, but it also controls the health of the host. Recently, microorganisms inherent to the gut microbiome, such as Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium cochlearium, were demonstrated to be electroactive that is to perform extracellular electron transfer (EET). To further explore the role of EET in the gut microbiome the first electrochemical enrichment starting from mouse feces was performed. Open circuit, abiotic and autoclaved inoculum controls were run in parallel. The presence of electroactive anodic biofilms was demonstrated using fluorescence microscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The 16S rRNA gene sequencing and PCR-free Nanopore sequencing showed the enrichment and dominance of Shigella flexneri.