Dmitrii Pankratov, Silvia Hidalgo Martinez, Cheryl Karman, Anastasia Gerzhik, Gabriel Gomila, Stanislav Trashin, Henricus T S Boschker, Jeanine S Geelhoed, Dirk Mayer, Karolien De Wael, Filip J R Meysman
Cable bacteria are filamentous, multicellular microorganisms that display an exceptional form of biological electron transport across centimeter-scale distances. Currents are guided through a network of nickel-containing protein fibers within the cell envelope. Still, the mechanism of long-range conduction remains unresolved. Here, we characterize the conductance of the fiber network under dry and wet, physiologically relevant, conditions. Our data reveal that the fiber conductivity is high (median value: 27 S cm-1 ; range: 2 to 564 S cm-1 ), does not show any redox signature, has a low thermal activation energy (Ea = 69 ± 23 meV), and is not affected by humidity or the presence of ions...
February 25, 2024: Bioelectrochemistry