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Microbial extracellular electron transfer (EET) plays a vital role in globally important environmental phenomena, including bioremediation, bioenergy generation, and biofuel production. The quantitation of microbial exoelectrogenic ability is fundamental to studying the process of EET. However, there is no accurate and time-saving protocol to directly evaluate EET ability, hindering our understanding and application of EET. In this work, we proposed an accurate and rapid quantitation system for measuring EET ability using a gold-coated membrane filter as a working electrode. The quantitation signals could be recorded within 1 h and accurately normalized by the number of cells with outstanding repeatability and reproducibility. Further, this method could be distinguished microbial direct EET performances of different growth stages, and the results showed the middle logarithmic growth stage of Shewanella onedensis MR-1 had the best electrochemical activity. This method can be widely used for different types of electroactive microorganisms, including gram-negative bacteria, gram-positive bacteria, and fungi. Due to its time savings, accurate quantification and easy operation, this method provides a standard way to assess the role of EET ability. • RQEET combined the features of filtration and conductivity to obtain a new type of electrode. • RQEET can quantify microbial EET ability in a short time (≤1 h). • RQEET shows great repeatability by controlling the number and growth stage of loading cells. • RQEET is flexible to integrate into biological techniques for molecular studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore a green, low-cost, and efficient strategy to synthesis reduced graphene oxide (RGO), the process and mechanism of the graphene oxide (GO) reduction by a model electrochemically active bacteria (EAB), Geobacter sulfurreducens PCA, were studied. In this work, up to 1.0 mg mL−1 of GO was reduced by G. sulfurreducens within 0.5–8 days. I D /I G ratio in reduced product was similar to chemically RGO. After microbial reduction, the peak which corresponded to the reflection of graphene oxide (001) disappeared, while another peak considered as graphite spacing (002) appeared. The peak intensity of typical oxygen function groups, such as carboxyl C–O and >O (epoxide) groups, diminished in bacterially induced RGO comparing to initial GO. Besides, we observed the doping of nitrogen and phosphorus elements in bacterially induced RGO. In a good agreement with that, better electrochemical performance was noticed after GO reduction. As confirmed with differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis, the maximum value of peak currents of bacterially induced RGO were significantly higher than those of GO. Our results showed the electron transfer at microbial cell/GO interface promoted the GO reduction, suggesting a broader application of EAB in biological mediated production of RGO. Image 1 • Provided a green chemistry strategy for the biological production of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) by Geobacter. • Bacterially induced RGO by Geobacter exhibited a good performance in electrochemical conductivity. • The doping of nitrogen and phosphorus elements were observed in the bacterially induced RGO by Geobacter. • Extracellular electron transfer at microbial cell/GO interface promoted the graphene oxide (GO) reduction of Geobacter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]