Physiology of Geobacter metallireducens under excess and limitation of electron donors. Part II. Mimicking environmental conditions during cultivation in retentostats

The strict anaerobe Geobacter metallireducens was cultivated in retentostats under acetate and acetate plus benzoate limitation in the presence of Fe(III) citrate in order to investigate its physiology under close to natural conditions. Growth rates below 0.003 h−1 were achieved in the course of cultivation. A nano-liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry-based proteomic approach (nano-LC-MS/MS) with subsequent label-free quantification was performed on proteins extracted from cells sampled at different time points during retentostat cultivation. Proteins detected at low (0.002 h−1) and high (0.06 h−1) growth rates were compared between corresponding growth conditions (acetate or acetate plus benzoate). Carbon limitation significantly increased the abundances of several catabolic proteins involved in the degradation of substrates not present in the medium (ethanol, butyrate, fatty acids, and aromatic compounds). Growth rate-specific physiology was reflected in the changed abundances of energy-, chemotaxis-, oxidative stress-, and transport-related proteins. Mimicking natural conditions by extremely slow bacterial growth allowed to show how G. metallireducens optimized its physiology in order to survive in its natural habitats, since it was prepared to consume several carbon sources simultaneously and to withstand various environmental stresses.