Extracellular respiration is a latent energy metabolism in Escherichia coli

Abstract

Diverse microbes utilize redox shuttles to exchange electrons with their environment through mediated extracellular electron transfer (EET), supporting anaerobic survival. Although mediated EET has been leveraged for bioelectrocatalysis for decades, fundamental questions remain about how these redox shuttles are reduced within cells and their role in cellular bioenergetics. Here, we integrate genome editing, electrochemistry, and systems biology to investigate the mechanism and bioenergetics of mediated EET in Escherichia coli, elusive for over two decades. In the absence of alternative electron sinks, the redox cycling of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (HNQ) via the cytoplasmic nitroreductases NfsB and NfsA enables E. coli respiration on an extracellular electrode. E. coli also exhibits rapid genetic adaptation in the outer membrane porin OmpC, enhancing HNQ-mediated EET levels coupled to growth. This work demonstrates that E. coli can grow independently of classic electron transport chains and fermentation, unveiling a potentially widespread new type of anaerobic energy metabolism.