Topic
Magnetotactic bacteria
About: Magnetotactic bacteria is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 1118 publications have been published within this topic receiving 43741 citations.
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TL;DR: Photomicrography has demonstrated that magnetotactic bacteria have a highly ordered, helical flight path when exposed to the magnetic field of a bar magnet.
Abstract: Magnetotactic bacteria, in particular 2 morphological forms of magnetococci, are of common occurrence at the sediment/water interface of ponds, lakes and estuaries in the U.K. Photomicrography has demonstrated that the organisms have a highly ordered, helical flight path when exposed to the magnetic field of a bar magnet. In the earth's magnetic field, the helical characteristic of the flight path was evident, but the organisms failed to move in a straight path.
22 citations
TL;DR: Results strongly suggest that, unlike previously described magnetotactic protists, this flagellate is capable of biomineralizing its own anisotropic magnetite magnetosomes which are aligned in complex aggregations of multiple chains within the cell.
Abstract: The most well-recognized magnetoreception behaviour is that of the magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), which synthesize membrane-bounded magnetic nanocrystals called magnetosomes via a biologically controlled process. The magnetic minerals identified in prokaryotic magnetosomes are magnetite (Fe3 O4 ) and greigite (Fe3 S4 ). Magnetosome crystals, regardless of composition, have consistent, species-specific morphologies and single-domain size range. Because of these features, magnetosome magnetite crystals possess specific properties in comparison to abiotic, chemically synthesized magnetite. Despite numerous discoveries regarding MTB phylogeny over the last decades, this diversity is still considered underestimated. Characterization of magnetotactic microorganisms is important as it might provide insights into the origin and establishment of magnetoreception in general, including eukaryotes. Here, we describe the magnetotactic behaviour and characterize the magnetosomes from a flagellated protist using culture-independent methods. Results strongly suggest that, unlike previously described magnetotactic protists, this flagellate is capable of biomineralizing its own anisotropic magnetite magnetosomes, which are aligned in complex aggregations of multiple chains within the cell. This organism has a similar response to magnetic field inversions as MTB. Therefore, this eukaryotic species might represent an early origin of magnetoreception based on magnetite biomineralization. It should add to the definition of parameters and criteria to classify biogenic magnetite in the fossil record.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the coupling field between the aligned magnetite particles of 55 mT was determined by the strong influence of the anisotropy properties of the studied magnetic composite.
21 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a magneto-optical study of magnetosomes is presented, which shows that the magnetic dipoles are formed by biomineralization process of magnetotactic bacteria, followed by steps of isolation and purification to obtain stable suspensions.
21 citations
TL;DR: It is demonstrated how AFM can be used to capture high-resolution images of live bacteria and achieved nanometer resolution when imaging Mms6 protein molecules on magnetite.
21 citations