| Literature DB >> 34183682 |
Henricus T S Boschker1,2, Perran L M Cook3, Lubos Polerecky4, Raghavendran Thiruvallur Eachambadi5, Helena Lozano6, Silvia Hidalgo-Martinez7, Dmitry Khalenkow8, Valentina Spampinato9, Nathalie Claes10, Paromita Kundu10, Da Wang10, Sara Bals10, Karina K Sand11, Francesca Cavezza12, Tom Hauffman12, Jesper Tataru Bjerg7,13,14, Andre G Skirtach8, Kamila Kochan3, Merrilyn McKee3, Bayden Wood3, Diana Bedolla15, Alessandra Gianoncelli15, Nicole M J Geerlings4, Nani Van Gerven16,17, Han Remaut16,17, Jeanine S Geelhoed7, Ruben Millan-Solsona6,18, Laura Fumagalli19,20, Lars Peter Nielsen13,14, Alexis Franquet9, Jean V Manca5, Gabriel Gomila6,18, Filip J R Meysman21,22.
Abstract
Filamentous cable bacteria display long-range electron transport, generating electrical currents over centimeter distances through a highly ordered network of fibers embedded in their cell envelope. The conductivity of these periplasmic wires is exceptionally high for a biological material, but their chemical structure and underlying electron transport mechanism remain unresolved. Here, we combine high-resolution microscopy, spectroscopy, and chemical imaging on individual cable bacterium filaments to demonstrate that the periplasmic wires consist of a conductive protein core surrounded by an insulating protein shell layer. The core proteins contain a sulfur-ligated nickel cofactor, and conductivity decreases when nickel is oxidized or selectively removed. The involvement of nickel as the active metal in biological conduction is remarkable, and suggests a hitherto unknown form of electron transport that enables efficient conduction in centimeter-long protein structures.Entities:
Year: 2021 PMID： 34183682 DOI： 10.1038/s41467-021-24312-4
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Nat Commun ISSN： 2041-1723 Impact factor: 14.919