Extracellular electron transfer (EET)

Electron flow is essential for energy metabolism, which is crucial for life. Respiration helps move electrons into places where they can be used, powering important cell activities like growth. Escherichia coli, a key microbe for studying energy metabolism, usually uses oxygen and nitrate inside the cell to help with respiration (1, 2, 3, 4).

Exoelectrogens are special microbes that use things outside the cell, like metal oxides, to transfer electrons. This process is called extracellular electron transfer (EET). In microbes like [Shew…