Some bacteria build internal 'power cables' to extend respiration beyond the cell membrane
Researchers have discovered that certain bacteria utilize protein-based hollow filaments to extend their respiratory machinery into the cell interior. This 'power cable' system allows bacteria to increase energy production without needing to expand their cell membranes.
Why it matters
This discovery challenges fundamental biological assumptions about how cells generate energy and provides new insights into bacterial physiology.
edited by Sadie Harley , reviewed by Robert Egan
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Add as preferred source Negative-stain EM of streptactin-isolated Ndh–Ncp after incubation with B. subtilis membranes, showing attachment to membrane vesicles. Credit: Nature Microbiology (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41564-026-02450-z All living cells need energy, and most generate it through respiration, a series of chemical reactions normally confined to the cell membrane. Because this machinery takes up space, a cell's energy-generating capacity has long been thought to depend on how much membrane it can build. Complex cells solve this problem using mitochondria packed with folded membranes, while some bacteria enlarge or reshape their own membranes. In each case, producing more energy requires changing the cell's internal architecture.
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