Electrode functional microorganisms in bioelectrochemical systems and its regulation: A review

Juping You; Lei Ye; Shihan Zhang; Jingkai Zhao; Yan Zhao; Yaxue He; Jianmeng Chen; Christian Kennes; Dongzhi Chen

doi:10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108521

Electrode functional microorganisms in bioelectrochemical systems and its regulation: A review

Biotechnol Adv. 2025 Jan 13:108521. doi: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108521. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Juping You¹, Lei Ye², Shihan Zhang³, Jingkai Zhao³, Yan Zhao², Yaxue He², Jianmeng Chen⁴, Christian Kennes⁵, Dongzhi Chen⁶

Affiliations

¹ Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China; Key Laboratory of Pollution Exposure and Health Intervention of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou 312028, China.
² Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China.
³ College of Environment, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou 310014, China.
⁴ School of Environment and Natural Resources, Zhejiang University of Science and Technology, Hangzhou 310018, China.
⁵ Chemical Engineering Laboratory and Center for Advance Scientific Research (CICA), Faculty of Sciences, Universidade da Coruña, Spain.
⁶ Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Petrochemical Environmental Pollution Control, Zhejiang Ocean University, Zhoushan 316022, China. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 39814087
DOI: 10.1016/j.biotechadv.2025.108521

Abstract

Bioelectrochemical systems (BES) as environmental remediation biotechnologies have boomed in the last two decades. Although BESs combined technologies with electro-chemistry, -biology, and -physics, microorganisms and biofilms remain at their core. In this review, various functional microorganisms in BESs for CO₂ reduction, dehalogenation, nitrate, phosphate, and sulfate reduction, metal removal, and volatile organic compound oxidation are summarized and compared in detail. Moreover, interrelationship regulation approaches for functional microorganisms and methods for electroactive biofilm development, such as targeted electrode surface modification, chemical treatment, physical revealing, biological optimization, and genetic programming are pointed out. This review provides promising guidance and suggestions for the selection of microbial inoculants and provides an analysis of the role of individual microorganisms in mixed microbial communities and its metabolisms.

Keywords: Bioelectrochemical systems; Biofilm regulation; Functional microorganisms.

Publication types

Review