An Ordered and Fail-Safe Electrical Network in Cable Bacteria.
Adv Biosyst
; 4(7): e2000006, 2020 07.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-32449305
ABSTRACT
Cable bacteria are an emerging class of electroactive organisms that sustain unprecedented long-range electron transport across centimeter-scale distances. The local pathways of the electrical currents in these filamentous microorganisms remain unresolved. Here, the electrical circuitry in a single cable bacterium is visualized with nanoscopic resolution using conductive atomic force microscopy. Combined with perturbation experiments, it is demonstrated that electrical currents are conveyed through a parallel network of conductive fibers embedded in the cell envelope, which are electrically interconnected between adjacent cells. This structural organization provides a fail-safe electrical network for long-distance electron transport in these filamentous microorganisms. The observed electrical circuit architecture is unique in biology and can inspire future technological applications in bioelectronics.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacteria
/
Electric Conductivity
Language:
En
Journal:
Adv Biosyst
Year:
2020
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bélgica