Lebende Stromkabel mit überraschender Arbeitsteilung

Centimeter-long, multicellular bacteria that form electric wires as good as semiconductors? That split their energy-conserving redox reaction into two half reactions, performed in distant parts of their filamentous “body”, so some cells “eat” while other cells “breathe”? Sounds like science fiction, doesn’t it? And yet that’s what “cable bacteria” do. Here’s their story, from their surprise discovery 12 years ago to the selection of the candidate genus Electronema as Microbe of the Year 2024.