Heterologous expression of dodecaheme "nanowire" cytochromes c from Geobacter sulfurreducens.

Multiheme cytochromes c are difficult to produce in heterologous systems. The genome of delta-proteobacterium Geobacter sulfurreducens contains more than a hundred genes coding for c-type cytochromes. Among those are two dodecaheme cytochromes c representing a new class of multiheme cytochromes, whose putative structure is a one-dimensional array of small highly homologous domains that contain three hemes and are covalently bound by short linkers.