Filamentous bacteria transport electrons over centimetre distances

Christian Pfeffer, Steffen Larsen, Jie Song, Mingdong Dong, Flemming Besenbacher, Rikke Louise Meyer, Kasper Urup Kjeldsen, Lars Schreiber, Yuri A. Gorby, Mohamed Y. El-Naggar, Kar Man Leung, Andreas Schramm, Nils Risgaard-Petersen () and Lars Peter Nielsen ()
Additional contact information
Christian Pfeffer: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Steffen Larsen: Section for Microbiology, Aarhus University
Jie Song: Centre for DNA Nanotechnology (CDNA), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University
Mingdong Dong: Centre for DNA Nanotechnology (CDNA), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University
Flemming Besenbacher: Centre for DNA Nanotechnology (CDNA), Interdisciplinary Nanoscience Center (iNANO), Aarhus University
Rikke Louise Meyer: Section for Microbiology, Aarhus University
Kasper Urup Kjeldsen: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Lars Schreiber: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Yuri A. Gorby: University of Southern California
Mohamed Y. El-Naggar: University of Southern California
Kar Man Leung: University of Southern California
Andreas Schramm: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Nils Risgaard-Petersen: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University
Lars Peter Nielsen: Center for Geomicrobiology, Aarhus University

Nature, 2012, vol. 491, issue 7423, 218-221

Abstract: Abstract Oxygen consumption in marine sediments is often coupled to the oxidation of sulphide generated by degradation of organic matter in deeper, oxygen-free layers. Geochemical observations have shown that this coupling can be mediated by electric currents carried by unidentified electron transporters across centimetre-wide zones. Here we present evidence that the native conductors are long, filamentous bacteria. They abounded in sediment zones with electric currents and along their length they contained strings with distinct properties in accordance with a function as electron transporters. Living, electrical cables add a new dimension to the understanding of interactions in nature and may find use in technology development.

Date: 2012
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DOI: 10.1038/nature11586

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