Bacterial nanowires

Bacterial nanowires (also known as microbial nanowires) are electrically conductive appendages produced by a number of bacteria most notably from the Geobacter and Shewanella genera. Conductive nanowires have also been reported in the oxygenic cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC6803 and a thermophilic, methanogenic coculture consisting of Pelotomaculum thermopropionicum and Methanothermobacter thermoautotrophicus, but the identity of these proteins remains unknown. From physiological and functional perspectives, bacterial nanowires are diverse. The precise role microbial nanowires play in their biological systems has not been fully realized, but several proposed functions exist. Outside of a naturally occurring environment, bacterial nanowires have shown potential to be useful in several fields, notably the bioenergy and bioremediation industries.