Structure of a cytochrome-based bacterial nanowire

Electrically conductive pili from Geobacter species, termed bacterial - nanowires -, are intensely studied for their biological significance and potential in the development of new materials. We have characterized a unique nanowire from conductive G. sulfurreducens pili preparations by cryo-electron microscopy composed solely of the c-type cytochrome OmcS. We present here, at 0.34 nm resolution, a novel structure of a cytochrome-based filament and discuss its possible role in long-range biological electron transport.