Provided herein are methods for treating or preventing diseases of the eye such as Bietti's Crystalline Dystrophy (BCD) using, for example, vectors for delivering a gene encoding a CYP4V2 protein to the retina (for example, to the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells) or using cells comprising such vectors.

A nanowire may be isolated from a bacterium, wherein the nanowire includes c-type heme subunits or pili proteins and is capable of establishing an electrical connection with an insoluble electron acceptor. The c-type heme subunits may comprise OmcS or OmcZ cytochrome subunits or any combination thereof. The pili proteins may have an amino acid sequence with at least one residue modified, from a wild-type strain of the microorganism, to include an aromatic amino acid. The nanowire may have metallic or semiconducting conductive properties, and may be integrated into an electronic device.

A nanowire may be isolated from a bacterium, wherein the nanowire includes c-type heme subunits or pili proteins and is capable of establishing an electrical connection with an insoluble electron acceptor. The c-type heme subunits may comprise OmcS or OmcZ cytochrome subunits or any combination thereof. The pili proteins may have an amino acid sequence with at least one residue modified, from a wild-type strain of the microorganism, to include an aromatic amino acid. The nanowire may have metallic or semiconducting conductive properties, and may be integrated into an electronic device.