Recombineering for Precise Genome Editing in Shewanella oneidensis

Abstract

With the rapid growth in renewable energy systems to fulfill the increasing global electricity demand, we must establish methods for low-cost and large-scale electrical energy storage. The key to solving our energy storage problems may lie in biological systems, and we could use these systems to our advantage. One such system of interest is the extracellular electron transfer process in Shewanella oneidensis, which could potentially be used for electrosynthesis and allow for electrical energy to be converted and stored as microbial fuel cells. Genetically engineering microbes such as S. oneidensis may help address the lack of energy storage solutions, and we can study and engineer these systems using molecular and synthetic biology tools. This paper explores a method that allows us to knock out genes quickly and precisely using recombination-mediated genetic engineering, or recombineering, as well as discusses possible areas for future research in S. oneidensis.