Multidisciplinary methodologies used in the study of cable bacteria.

Abstract

Cable bacteria are a unique type of filamentous microorganism, which can grow up to centimetres long and are capable of long-distance electron transport over their entire lengths. Due to their unique metabolism and conductive capacities, the study of cable bacteria has required technical innovations, both in adapting existing techniques and developing entirely new ones. This review discusses the existing methods used to study eight distinct aspects of cable bacteria research, including the challenges of culturing them in laboratory conditions, performing physical and biochemical extractions, and analysing the conductive mechanism. As cable bacteria research requires an interdisciplinary approach, methods from a range of fields are discussed, such as biogeochemistry, genomics, materials science, and electrochemistry. A critical analysis of the current state of each approach is presented, highlighting the advantages and drawbacks of both commonly used and emerging methods.