User:Willyip/sandbox

Original- "Bacterial nanowires"

Implications and potential applications
Biologically it is unclear what is implied by the existence of bacterial nanowires. Nanowires may function as conduits for electron transport between different members of a microbial community.

References

Edit- "Bacterial nanowires"

Willyip (talk) 16:40, 8 October 2017 (UTC)

Further Edit- "Bacterial Nanowires" Willyip (talk) 21:21, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

Application Significance of Bacterial nanowires
Bacterial nanowires have been shown to have significant potential applications in the fields of bioenergy and bioremediation. Electron transfer between the pili of Geobacter, a dissimilatory metal-reducing bacterium, generates conductivity that drives the conversion of organic compounds to electricity in microbial fuel cells. Biofilms produced by Geobacter colonies contribute greatly to the overall production of bioenergy. They allow the transfer of electrons via conductive pili over a greater distance from the anode. In fact, Bioenergy output can be further enhanced by inducing the expression of additional nanowire genes. Geobacter strains with heightened expression of conductive pili have been shown to produce more conductive biofilms, thus increasing overall electricity output.

Microbial nanowires of Shewanella and Geobacter have also been shown to aid in bioremediation of uranium contaminated groundwater. To demonstrate this, scientists compared and observed the concentration of uranium removed by piliated and nonpiliated strains of Geobacter. Through a series of controlled experiments, they were able to deduce that nanowire present strains were more effective at the mineralization of uranium as compared to nanowire absent mutants.

Further application significance of bacterial nanowires include bioelectronics. With sustainable resources in mind, scientists have proposed the future use of biofilms of Geobacter as a platform for functional under water transistors and supercapacitors, capable of self renewing energy.