ArticleBMC genomics2024
Comparative genomic analysis of nickel homeostasis in cable bacteria.
Article in BMC genomics, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Electroactive Microbiomes: Electron Transfer Mechanisms and Environmental Biotechnology Applications.Environmental microbiology reports · 2026Review
- Highly efficient long-range conduction through a biosynthetic nickel-organic framework.Nature communications · 2026Article
- Evidence for cable bacteria inhabiting deep in anoxic sediment reveals a novel ecological niche.Environmental microbiome · 2026Article
- The genetic repertoire underlying electrogenic sulphur oxidation in cable bacteria.BMC genomics · 2026Article
- A novel cable bacteria species with a distinct morphology and genomic potential.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2025Article
- Comparison of cable bacteria genera reveals details of their conduction machinery.EMBO reports · 2025Article
- Multidisciplinary methodologies used in the study of cable bacteria.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2025Review
- On the diversity, phylogeny and biogeography of cable bacteria.Frontiers in microbiology · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundCable bacteria are filamentous members of the Desulfobulbaceae family that are capable of performing centimetre‑scale electron transport in marine and freshwater sediments. This long‑distance electron transport is mediated by a network of parallel conductive fibres embedded in the cell envelope. This fibre network efficiently transports electrical currents along the entire length of the centimetre‑long filament. Recent analyses show that these fibres consist of metalloproteins that harbour a novel nickel‑containing cofactor, which indicates that cable bacteria have evolved a unique form of biological electron transport. This nickel‑dependent conduction mechanism suggests that cable bacteria are strongly dependent on nickel as a biosynthetic resource. Here, we performed a comprehensive comparative genomic analysis of the genes linked to nickel homeostasis. We compared the genome‑encoded adaptation to nickel of cable bacteria to related members of the Desulfobulbaceae family and other members of the Desulfobulbales order.
resultsPresently, four closed genomes are available for the monophyletic cable bacteria clade that consists of the genera Candidatus Electrothrix and Candidatus Electronema. To increase the phylogenomic coverage, we additionally generated two closed genomes of cable bacteria: Candidatus Electrothrix gigas strain HY10‑6 and Candidatus Electrothrix antwerpensis strain GW3‑4, which are the first closed genomes of their respective species. Nickel homeostasis genes were identified in a database of 38 cable bacteria genomes (including 6 closed genomes). Gene prevalence was compared to 19 genomes of related strains, residing within the Desulfobulbales order but outside of the cable bacteria clade, revealing several genome‑encoded adaptations to nickel homeostasis in cable bacteria. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that nickel importers, nickel‑binding enzymes and nickel chaperones of cable bacteria are affiliated to organisms outside the Desulfobulbaceae family, with several proteins showing affiliation to organisms outside of the Desulfobacterota phylum. Conspicuously, cable bacteria encode a unique periplasmic nickel export protein RcnA, which possesses a putative cytoplasmic histidine‑rich loop that has been largely expanded compared to RcnA homologs in other organisms.
conclusionCable bacteria genomes show a clear genetic adaptation for nickel utilization when compared to closely related genera. This fully aligns with the nickel‑dependent conduction mechanism that is uniquely found in cable bacteria.
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