Cable Bacteria Skeletons as Catalytically Active Electrodes

Cable bacteria are multicellular, filamentous bacteria that use internal conductive fibers to transfer electrons over centimeter distances from donors within anoxic sediment layers to oxygen at the surface. We extracted the fibers and used them as free‐standing bio‐based electrodes to investigate th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Angewandte Chemie International Edition 2024-02, Vol.63 (6), p.e202312647-n/a
Main Authors: Digel, Leonid, Mierzwa, Maciej, Bonné, Robin, Zieger, Silvia E., Pavel, Ileana‐Alexandra, Ferapontova, Elena, Koren, Klaus, Boesen, Thomas, Harnisch, Falk, Marshall, Ian P. G., Nielsen, Lars Peter, Kuhn, Alexander
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteria
Bacteria - metabolism
Bioelectrochemistry
Bipolar Electrochemistry
Cable Bacteria
Concentration gradient
Electrodes
Electron Transport
Fibers
Filamentous bacteria
Geologic Sediments - microbiology
Optical measurement
Oxidation
Oxidation-Reduction
Oxygen
Oxygen - metabolism
Oxygen consumption
Oxygen Evolution Reaction
Oxygen Reduction Reaction
Reduction
Sulfides - metabolism
Water - metabolism
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Summary:Cable bacteria are multicellular, filamentous bacteria that use internal conductive fibers to transfer electrons over centimeter distances from donors within anoxic sediment layers to oxygen at the surface. We extracted the fibers and used them as free‐standing bio‐based electrodes to investigate their electrocatalytic behavior. The fibers catalyzed the reversible interconversion of oxygen and water, and an electric current was running through the fibers even when the potential difference was generated solely by a gradient of oxygen concentration. Oxygen reduction as well as oxygen evolution were confirmed by optical measurements. Within living cable bacteria, oxygen reduction by direct electrocatalysis on the fibers and not by membrane‐bound proteins readily explains exceptionally high cell‐specific oxygen consumption rates observed in the oxic zone, while electrocatalytic water oxidation may provide oxygen to cells in the anoxic zone. Biological cables as electrodes: Electrically conducting filamentous cable bacteria skeletons were used as free‐standing biological electrodes and displayed catalytic selectivity towards oxygen. The skeletons convert water to oxygen and oxygen back to water. We show that the reactions can be driven either by an external electric field or by simply exposing the cables to a gradient of oxygen concentration.
ISSN:1433-7851
1521-3773
1521-3773
DOI:10.1002/anie.202312647