An electroless, photolytic method is described to synthesize Au nanoclusters and electrically conductive, micronmeter long nanostructures on DNA. Electrical characterization indicates that the Au nanostructures are continuous, exhibiting Ohmic behavior with very low contact resistance with the electrodes. The nanoclusters have a size of 10-40 nm, and the nanostructure have a diameter of 40-70 nm with resistivity comparable to that of pure metal. The method is highly selective with deposition confined to the DNA template.