ABSTRACT
A microbial nanowire is a filament appendage produced by bacteria known also as bacterial nanowires. The characteristics of microbial nanowires are similar to those of polymer nanowires. They consist of electrically conductive fimbriae, playing role in transferring electrons to a variety of solid surfaces. Now, there has been a gain in attention in regards to techniques to synthesize these materials within the field of electromicrobiology. Many bacteria called dissimilatory metal-reducing bacteria (DMRB) showed a capacity to transfer electrons via microbial nanowires; nevertheless, only two bacterial nanowires models were described: Shewanella oneidensis and Geobacter sulfurreducens. The electron-conducting mechanisms described for the two models were remarkably different and are cytochrome or pilus based. Yet, it is important to analyze the influence in bacterial electrochemical behavior through parameters such as temperature, composition, and surface area of electrolytes. In that sense, this chapter also covers the taxonomy of bacteria along with the main species capable of performing the proteinaceous electron transfer process. Also, the structure and diversity of bacterial pilus including nanowires and mechanisms of electron transfer involving these appendages are detailed. Finally, the potential application of microbial nanowires in different fields of bioenergy, bioremediation, and bioelectronics are overviewed.
