Electrogen · Primary fermenter · Contaminant pathogen
Enterococcus faecalis
Bacillota · Bacilli · Enterococcaceae
- Gram positive
- Gut microbe
- Flavin EET
- Tier 3
01 · Identity
Identity
Where this organism sits in the tree of life, how to obtain it, and what a cell looks like.
Lineage
- domainBacteria
- ›phylumBacillota
- ›classBacilli
- ›orderLactobacillales
- ›familyEnterococcaceae
- ›genusEnterococcus
- ›speciesEnterococcus faecalis
Culture collections & accessions
- NCBI taxon
- 1351
Cell morphology
Coccus, Gram-positive (monoderm)
- Motile: no
- Pili: yes
- Capsule: yes
- S-layer: no
- Outer-membrane vesicles: no
- Spore-forming: no
02 · Electron transfer
Electron transfer
How electrons cross the cell envelope — the property that makes a microbe useful in an electrochemical system.
Mechanisms
- Outer-membrane cytochromes: no
- Endogenous shuttles: yes
- Exogenous shuttles: yes
Redox ladder
- 1demethylmenaquinone (DMK) -0.074 V · endogenous
Electron shuttles (2)
- demethylmenaquinone (DMK) · endogenous · E°′ -0.074 V
Light 2018: a flavin-bound respiratory complex transfers electrons via DMK to extracellular acceptors.
- flavin · endogenous
Soluble flavin shuttling supplements DMK-mediated transfer.
Direct transfer — detail
- Notes
- Recent work (Pankratova 2018, Light 2018) implicates DMK-mediated extracellular electron transfer; the membrane-bound machinery is partially characterized.
- Completeness
- Partial
Mediated transfer — detail
- Completeness
- Mapped
03 · Growth envelope
Growth envelope
The conditions this organism tolerates and what it eats and breathes — the operating window for a reactor.
Energy metabolism
Electron donors
Electron acceptors
- O2
- Fumarate
- Anode
- Fe(III)
Carbon sources
- Glucose
- Lactose
- Fructose
- Fermentative: yes
Metabolism — detail
- Nitrogen sources
- NH4+
- amino acids
- ATP synthase type
- Proton dependent
- Energy conservation mechanism
- Mixed
04 · Performance
Performance
Reported electrochemical output, the role it plays in a reactor, and what it produces.
05 · Ecology & biofilm
Ecology & biofilm
How it lives on an electrode, who it partners with, and where it is found in nature.
Ecosystems
- Host associated
- Soil
Isolation sources
- human gut
- Feces
- Soil
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)
- BiosensorTRL 2/9
- Research model organism
Genetics
- Genetically tractable: yes
Key EET genes
- pplA
- ndh3
- eetA
- eetB
- fmnB
- dmkA
- dmkB
qPCR targets
- pplA
- ndh3
Vectors
- pAM401
- pCF10
- pIL252
Reporter genes
- GFP
- luxAB
Inducible promoters
- nisin-controlled NICE
Knockout collections
- Mariner Tn library (Garsin lab)
Transposon libraries
- mTn10
- TnMariner
Genome annotation: expert curated.
Biosafety
- Pathogen: yes
- Carries concerning ARGs: yes
VRE strains are clinically significant.
Antibiotic-resistance genes
- vanA
- vanB
- tetM
- ermB
- aac(6')-Ie-aph(2'')-Ia
Mobile genetic elements
- Tn1546
- pheromone-responsive plasmids
Modeling assets
Linked GEM: iEF712
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
Literature reviewed 2026-04-26 · schema v1.2.0 · updated 2026-04-28 · imported 2026-04-28
References (2)
- Light SH, et al. (2018). A flavin-based extracellular electron transfer mechanism in diverse Gram-positive bacteria. Nature 562:140-144.doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0498-z
- Light SH, et al. (2018). A flavin-based extracellular electron transfer mechanism in diverse Gram-positive bacteria. Nature 562:140-144.doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0498-z
Version history
- 2026-04-27 · v1.2.0 · messai_curation
- Added structured DMK + flavin shuttles inventory.
- Added arg_inventory (vanA/B, tetM, ermB).
- Added genetic_tools (pAM401, pCF10, NICE promoter, Mariner Tn library).
- Added morphology has_pili/has_capsule.