Enhancement of methanogenesis via direct interspecies electron transfer between Geobacteraceae and Methanosaetaceae conducted by granular activated carbon

•Conductive GAC promoting methanogenesis remarkably.•Promoting methanogenesis by GAC was not by increasing biomass.•Promoting methanogenesis with GAC probably was related with DIET.•GAC may play the role of c-Cyts' substitution in DIET.

To understand how granular activated carbon (GAC) promotes methanogenesis, batch tests of CH4 production potential in anaerobic serum bottles with addition of GAC or not were conducted. Tests showed that GAC promoted methanogenesis remarkably, but the non-conductive zeolite did not. The qPCR demonstrated that the biomass on GAC contributed little to the promotion. High-throughput sequencing data implied that promotion was related with direct interspecies electron transfer between Geobacteraceae and Methanosaetaceae. According to the c-type cytochromes (c-Cyts) response to the supplement of GAC, it was speculated that GAC may play the role of c-Cyts' substitution. In the undefined cultures, the phenomenon that c-Cyts were repressed by GAC was first observed. This research provided new evidence to microbial mechanism of promoting methanogenesis via GAC.

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