Long-distance electron transfer in a filamentous Gram-positive bacterium

Yonggang Yang, Zegao Wang, Cuifen Gan, Lasse Hyldgaard Klausen, Robin Bonné, Guannan Kong, Dizhou Luo, Mathijs Meert, Chunjie Zhu, Guoping Sun, Jun Guo, Yuxin Ma, Jesper Tataru Bjerg, Jean Manca, Meiying Xu (), Lars Peter Nielsen and Mingdong Dong ()
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Yonggang Yang: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Zegao Wang: Aarhus University
Cuifen Gan: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Lasse Hyldgaard Klausen: Aarhus University
Robin Bonné: Hasselt University
Guannan Kong: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Dizhou Luo: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Mathijs Meert: Hasselt University
Chunjie Zhu: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Guoping Sun: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Jun Guo: State Key Laboratory of Applied Microbiology Southern China
Yuxin Ma: Guangdong Pharmaceutical University
Jesper Tataru Bjerg: Aarhus University
Jean Manca: Hasselt University
Meiying Xu: Guangdong Academy of Sciences
Lars Peter Nielsen: Aarhus University
Mingdong Dong: Aarhus University

Nature Communications, 2021, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-9

Abstract: Abstract Long-distance extracellular electron transfer has been observed in Gram-negative bacteria and plays roles in both natural and engineering processes. The electron transfer can be mediated by conductive protein appendages (in short unicellular bacteria such as Geobacter species) or by conductive cell envelopes (in filamentous multicellular cable bacteria). Here we show that Lysinibacillus varians GY32, a filamentous unicellular Gram-positive bacterium, is capable of bidirectional extracellular electron transfer. In microbial fuel cells, L. varians can form centimetre-range conductive cellular networks and, when grown on graphite electrodes, the cells can reach a remarkable length of 1.08 mm. Atomic force microscopy and microelectrode analyses suggest that the conductivity is linked to pili-like protein appendages. Our results show that long-distance electron transfer is not limited to Gram-negative bacteria.

Date: 2021
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-21709-z

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