Nature: Hidden bacterial hairs power the "grid" in nature

The protein hidden in the bacteria pumps out the nanowires in the absence of oxygen, which is essentially "breathing out" electrons

Source: Nikhil Malvankar, Yale University

Nikhil Malvankar, assistant professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at the Microbial Science Institute at Yale's West Campus, said: "The land under our feet, the whole earth, is connected by wires

Almost all living things need to breathe oxygen to remove excess electrons when converting nutrients into energy

The two proteins buried in bacteria will pump out the nanowires in the absence of oxygen, which is actually "breathing out" electrons

However, how these soil bacteria use nanowires to exhale electricity remains a mystery

In this new study, graduate students Yangqi Gu and Vishok Srikanth used cryo-electron microscopy to reveal that this pili structure is composed of two proteins

The authors say that understanding how bacteria make nanowires will enable scientists to adjust bacteria to perform a range of functions-from fighting pathogenic infections or biohazardous waste to creating living circuits

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