Skip to main content
Publications | Persons | Institutes | Projects
[ report an error in this record ]basket (0): add | show Print this page

An ordered and fail‐safe electrical network in cable bacteria
Thiruvallur Eachambadi, R.; Bonné, R.; Cornelissen, R.; Hidalgo-Martinez, S.; Vangronsveld, J.; Meysman, F.J.R.; Valcke, R.; Cleuren, B.; Manca, J.V. (2020). An ordered and fail‐safe electrical network in cable bacteria. Advanced Biosystems 4(7): 2000006. https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adbi.202000006
In: Advanced Biosystems. Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH : Weinheim. e-ISSN 2366-7478, more
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 

Keywords
    Marine/Coastal; Fresh water

Authors  Top 
  • Thiruvallur Eachambadi, R., more
  • Bonné, R.
  • Cornelissen, R., more
  • Hidalgo-Martinez, S., more
  • Vangronsveld, J., more
  • Meysman, F.J.R., more
  • Valcke, R., more
  • Cleuren, B.
  • Manca, J.V., more

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.

All data in the Integrated Marine Information System (IMIS) is subject to the VLIZ privacy policy Top | Authors