MESSAI.iO

Primary fermenter · Hydrolytic bacterium · Syntrophic H₂ producer

Clostridium butyricum

Bacillota · Clostridia · Clostridiaceae

ElectroactiveEET outwardBSL-1Partial record
  • Fermenter
  • H₂ producer
  • Starch degrader
  • Spore former
  • Tier 2
  • Syntrophic
Outward
Electron transfer
electroactive
37°C
Optimal temperature
grows 20–45 °C
6.8
Optimal pH
grows pH 5–8

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 butyricum

Culture collections & accessions

NCBI taxon
1492

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 outward
CELLELECTRODESOLUBLE SHUTTLESflavinsquinone-lik…e⁻
Electrons flow outward: cell → electrode (exoelectrogen)

Mechanisms

  • Endogenous shuttles: yes

03 · Growth envelope

Growth envelope

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

MesophileObligate anaerobeChemoorganoheterotroph
Temperature37 (20–45) °C
0100 °C
pH6.8 (5–8)
014

Carbon sources

  • Glucose
  • Starch
  • Glycerol
  • Lactate
  • various sugars

Hydrolytic capabilities

  • Starch
  • Fermentative: yes

Metabolism — detail

ATP synthase type
Proton dependent

04 · Performance

Performance

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

Weak electrogen

Role in a reactor

Anode chamberAnode: supporting anode biofilm

Substrate → product (2)

  • glucoseyields
    • Butyrate
    • Acetate
    • H2
    • CO2

    anaerobic fermentation · yield 2 mol H2/mol glucose · Major H2 producer in mixed-culture MFCs.

  • glucoseyields
    • Butyrate
    • Acetate
    • H2
    • CO2

    anaerobic fermentation · yield 2 mol H2/mol glucose · Major H2 producer in mixed-culture MFCs.

05 · Ecology & biofilm

Ecology & biofilm

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

Syntrophic partners
RelationshipTransfer carrierPartner scientific name
Provides acetate substrate to electrogenic anode communityAcetateGeobacter spp.
Provides H2 (competitor with anode for electrons in MFC)H2hydrogenotrophic methanogens

Ecosystems

  • Soil
  • Host associated
  • Wastewater
  • Anaerobic digester

Isolation sources

  • Soil
  • human gut
  • Sewage

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 (2)

  • Wastewater treatment
    TRL 5/9
  • Hydrogen production MEC
    TRL 4/9

Engineering

Engineered strains publishedIndustrial relevance 3/5

Reactor compatibility

  • MFC single chamber
  • MFC dual chamber
  • MEC

Biosafety

BSL-1
  • Pathogen: no

Some strains used as probiotics; rarely pathogenic.

Modeling assets

Linked GEM: iCBU

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 2026-04-26 · schema v1.2.0 · updated 2026-04-28 · imported 2026-04-28

References (2)

  1. Park HS, et al. (2001). A novel electrochemically active and Fe(III)-reducing bacterium phylogenetically related to Clostridium butyricum isolated from a microbial fuel cell. Anaerobe 7:297-306.
  2. Park HS, et al. (2001). A novel electrochemically active and Fe(III)-reducing bacterium phylogenetically related to Clostridium butyricum isolated from a microbial fuel cell. Anaerobe 7:297-306.