<i>Methanobacterium</i> Dominates Biocathodic Archaeal Communities in Methanogenic Microbial Electrolysis Cells

Methane is the primary end product from cathodic current in microbial electrolysis cells (MECs) in the absence of methanogenic inhibitors, but little is known about the archaeal communities that develop in these systems. MECs containing cathodes made from different materials (carbon brushes, or plain graphite blocks or blocks coated with carbon black and platinum, stainless steel, nickel, ferrihydrite, magnetite, iron sulfide, or molybdenum disulfide) were inoculated with anaerobic digester sludge and acclimated at a set potential of −600 mV (versus a standard hydrogen electrode). The archaeal communities on all cathodes, except those coated with platinum, were predominated by Methanobacterium (median 97% of archaea). Cathodes with platinum contained mainly archaea most similar to Methanobrevibacter. Neither of these methanogens were abundant (