MESSAI.iO

Acetogen · Homoacetogen · Electrotroph

Clostridium autoethanogenum DSM 10061

Bacillota · Clostridia · Clostridiaceae

ElectroactiveEET inwardType strainBSL-1Partial record
  • Acetogen
  • Gas fermenter
  • Industrial
  • Tier 1
Inward
Electron transfer
electroactive
37°C
Optimal temperature
grows 25–40 °C
5.8
Optimal pH
grows pH 4.5–6.5

01 · Identity

Identity

Where this organism sits in the tree of life, how to obtain it, and what a cell looks like.

Lineage

  1. domainBacteria
  2. ›phylumBacillota
  3. ›classClostridia
  4. ›orderEubacteriales
  5. ›familyClostridiaceae
  6. ›genusClostridium
  7. ›speciesClostridium autoethanogenum DSM 10061

Culture collections & accessions

DSMZ
DSM 10061
NCBI taxon
1341692
Status
Type strain

Cell morphology

Rod, Gram-positive (monoderm)

  • Motile: yes
  • Spore-forming: yes

02 · Electron transfer

Electron transfer

How electrons cross the cell envelope — the property that makes a microbe useful in an electrochemical system.

ElectroactiveEET inward

No extracellular electron-transfer route is curated for this organism yet.

Mechanisms

Direct transfer — detail

Completeness
Hypothesized

Other

Cathode electron uptake mechanism
Direct EET demonstrated

03 · Growth envelope

Growth envelope

The conditions this organism tolerates and what it eats and breathes — the operating window for a reactor.

Obligate anaerobeMixotroph
Temperature37 (25–40) °C
0100 °C
pH5.8 (4.5–6.5)
014

Energy metabolism

Electron donors

  • H2
  • CO
  • Cathode

Electron acceptors

  • CO2

Carbon sources

  • CO
  • CO2
  • H2
  • Fructose

Metabolism — detail

ATP synthase type
Proton dependent
Carbon fixation pathway
Wood ljungdahl
Energy conservation mechanism
Rnf complex

04 · Performance

Performance

Reported electrochemical output, the role it plays in a reactor, and what it produces.

Role in a reactor

Cathode chamberCathode: primary product producer

Products (3)

ProductMax titer (g/L)Max rateCoulombic efficiency
ethanol———
acetate———
2,3-butanediol———

Substrate → product (2)

  • CO + H2Oyields
    • Ethanol
    • Acetate
    • 2,3-butanediol

    anaerobic gas fermentation, syngas

  • CO2 + electrons (cathode)yields
    • Acetate
    • Ethanol

    biocathode poised at cathodic potentials · MES capability demonstrated but less characterized than S. ovata.

05 · Ecology & biofilm

Ecology & biofilm

How it lives on an electrode, who it partners with, and where it is found in nature.

Ecosystems

  • Engineered MES
  • Anaerobic digester

06 · Applications, engineering & safety

Applications, engineering & safety

Where it has been put to work, how tractable it is to engineer, and what handling it requires.

Applications (3)

  • Biofuels · Commercial
    TRL 7/9
  • Microbial electrosynthesis other
    TRL 3/9
  • Carbon capture
    TRL 3/9

Engineering

Engineered strains publishedIndustrial relevance 5/5

Reactor compatibility

  • MES cathode

Commercial

NameCountryApplication
LanzaTechUS/NZgas fermentation for ethanol and chemicals

Biosafety

BSL-1
  • Pathogen: no

07 · Sources & data quality

Sources & data quality

Every value above traces to a citation. This is how complete and how confident the record is.

Record quality

PartialMedium confidenceCurated: manual

Literature reviewed 2026-05-13 · schema v1.3.0 · updated 2026-05-13 · imported 2026-05-13

Open data gaps (2)

  • Direct EET vs H2-mediated EET on cathode remains contested.
  • Kinetic parameters for MES (vs gas fermentation) sparse.

References (2)

  1. Abrini J, et al. (1994). Clostridium autoethanogenum, sp. nov., an anaerobic bacterium that produces ethanol from carbon monoxide. Arch Microbiol 161:345-351.
  2. Marshall CW, et al. (2017). Metabolic reconstruction and modeling microbial electrosynthesis. Sci Rep 7:8391.doi:10.1038/s41598-017-08877-z