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Home
Visualizing Microbial Indirect Extracellular Electron Transfer.

Home
Visualizing Microbial Indirect Extracellular Electron Transfer.

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Visualizing Microbial Indirect Extracellular Electron Transfer.

Xingyi He^1,2, Junye Ma^1,2, Binbin Wu^1,2

¹State Key Laboratory of Soil Pollution Control and Safety, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.

Environmental Science & Technology

|March 18, 2026

View abstract on PubMed

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Microbes can transfer electrons over centimeter distances using indirect extracellular electron transfer (IEET) mediated by electron shuttles. This finding reveals the ubiquity and significance of long-distance IEET in natural environments.

Keywords:

biogeochemical processes electron shuttle element cycles extracellular electron transfer visualization technique

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Area of Science:

Microbiology
Biogeochemistry
Environmental Science

Background:

Indirect extracellular electron transfer (IEET) is vital for anaerobic microbial respiration and biogeochemical cycling.
Direct visualization of IEET spatial extent has been a significant limitation in microbial respiration studies.

Purpose of the Study:

To visually demonstrate and quantify the extent of microbial indirect extracellular electron transfer (IEET) over centimeter distances.
To investigate the role of various electron shuttles in mediating long-distance IEET.
To confirm the ubiquity of long-distance IEET across diverse microbial communities.

Main Methods:

Utilized silver ions (Ag+) as electron traps.
Employed photothermal imaging of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) to visualize electron transfer.

Quantified electron transfer distances mediated by specific microbial strains and electron shuttles.

Main Results:

Demonstrated microbial electron transfer over centimeter distances, with *Shewanella oneidensis* MR-1 reaching 12.4 ± 0.2 mm.
Identified both endogenous (e.g., phenazine-1-carboxylic acid, riboflavin) and exogenous (e.g., natural organic matter) molecules as effective electron shuttles.
Observed long-distance IEET in diverse microbes from aquatic and terrestrial environments, indicating its widespread occurrence.
Documented impacts of IEET on methanogenesis and iron mineral dissolution.

Conclusions:

Centimeter-scale IEET is a ubiquitous microbial process with profound impacts on elemental cycling.
The developed imaging approach provides a robust tool for studying IEET and its biogeochemical consequences.
Long-distance IEET enhances microbial access to distant electron acceptors and facilitates interspecies electron transfer.