Magnetotactic bacteria
This article is missing information about taxa.(October 2020) |
Magnetotactic bacteria (or MTB) are a
Introduction
The first description of magnetotactic bacteria was in 1963 by Salvatore Bellini of the University of Pavia.[4][5] While observing bog sediments under his microscope, Bellini noticed a group of bacteria that evidently oriented themselves in a unique direction. He realized these microorganisms moved according to the direction of the North Pole, and hence called them "magnetosensitive bacteria". The publications were academic (peer-reviewed by the Istituto di Microbiologia's editorial committee under responsibility of the Institute's Director Prof. L. Bianchi, as usual in European universities at the time) and communicated in Italian with English, French and German short summaries in the official journal of a well-known institution, yet unexplainedly seem to have attracted little attention until they were brought to the attention of Richard Frankel in 2007. Frankel translated them into English and the translations were published in the Chinese Journal of Oceanography and Limnology.[6][7][8][9]
Richard Blakemore, then a microbiology graduate student[10] at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, working in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in whose collections the pertinent publications of the Institute of Microbiology of the University of Pavia were extant, observed microorganisms following the direction of Earth's magnetic field.[when?] Blakemore did not mention Bellini's research in his own report, which he published in Science, but was able to observe magnetosome chains using an electron microscope.[8][11] Bellini's terms for this behavior, namely Italian: batteri magnetosensibili, French: bactéries magnétosensibles or bactéries aimantées, German: magnetisch empfindliche Bakterien and English: magnetosensitive bacteria (Bellini's first publication, last page), went forgotten, and Blakemore's "magnetotaxis" was adopted by the scientific community.
These bacteria have been the subject of many experiments. They have even been aboard the Space Shuttle to examine their magnetotactic properties in the absence of gravity, but a definitive conclusion was not reached.[12]
The sensitivity of magnetotactic bacteria to the
Biology
Several different morphologies (shapes) of MTB exist, differing in number, layout and pattern of the bacterial magnetic particles (BMPs) they contain.
Magnetite-producing magnetotactic bacteria are usually found in an
It has been suggested MTB evolved in the early
Magnetotactic bacteria organize their magnetosomes in linear chains. The magnetic dipole moment of the cell is therefore the sum of the dipole moment of each BMP, which is then sufficient to passively orient the cell and overcome the casual thermal forces found in a water environment.
Nearly all of the genes relevant to magnetotaxis in MTB[
The diversity of MTB is reflected by the high number of different
Regardless of their morphology, all MTB studied so far are
Another trait that shows considerable diversity is the arrangement of magnetosomes inside the bacterial cell. In the majority of MTB, the magnetosomes are aligned in chains of various lengths and numbers along the cell's long axis, which is magnetically the most efficient orientation. However, dispersed aggregates or clusters of magnetosomes occur in some MTB, usually at one side of the cell, which often corresponds to the site of flagellar insertion. Besides magnetosomes, large inclusion bodies containing elemental
The most abundant type of MTB occurring in environmental samples, especially sediments, are coccoid cells possessing two flagellar bundles on a somewhat flattened side. This "bilophotrichous" type of flagellation gave rise to the tentative genus "Bilophococcus" for these bacteria. In contrast, two of the morphologically more conspicuous MTB, regularly observed in natural samples, but never isolated in
Magnetism
The physical development of a magnetic
The inclination of the Earth's magnetic field in the two respective hemispheres selects one of the two possible polarities of the magnetotactic cells (with respect to the flagellated pole of the cell), orienting the biomineralisation of the magnetosomes.
Two different magneto-aerotactic mechanisms—known as polar and axial—are found in different MTB strains.
Scientists have also proposed an extension of the described model of magneto-aerotaxis to a more complex
Microorganisms belonging to the genus
Magnetosomes
The
TPR domain
The TPR domains are characterized by a folding consisting of two α-helices and include a highly conserved consensus sequence of 8 amino acids (of the 34 possible),[29] which is the most common in nature. Apart from these amino acids, the remainder of the structure is found to be specialised in relation to its functional significance. The more notable compounds that comprise TPR domains include:
- membrane-bound transport complexes conveying proteins within mitochondria and/or peroxisomes
- complexes that recognise DNA-binding proteins and repress DNA transcription
- the anaphase-promoting complex (APC).
Examples of both the TPR-TPR interactions, as well as TPR-nonTPR interactions, have been reported.[30]
PDZ domain
The
Membrane and proteins
The formation of the magnetosome requires at least three steps:
- Invagination of the magnetosome membrane (MM)
- Entrance of magnetite precursors into the newly formed vesicle
- Nucleation and growth of the magnetite crystal
The first formation of an invagination in the cytoplasmic membrane is triggered by a GTPase. It is supposed this process can take place amongst eukaryotes, as well.
The second step requires the entrance of ferric
During the final stage of the process, the magnetite crystal nucleation is by action of transmembrane proteins with acidic and basic domains. One of these proteins, called Mms6, has also been employed for the artificial synthesis of magnetite, where its presence allows the production of crystals homogeneous in shape and size.
It is likely that many other proteins associated with the MM could be involved in other roles, such as generation of supersaturated concentrations of iron, maintenance of reducing conditions, oxidisation of iron, and partial reduction and dehydration of hydrated iron compounds.[32]
Biomineralisation
Several clues led to the hypothesis that different genetic sets exist for the biomineralisation of magnetite and greigite. In cultures of Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum, iron can not be replaced with other transition metals (Ti, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Hg, Pb) commonly found in the soil. In a similar manner, oxygen and sulfur are not interchangeable as nonmetallic substances of the magnetosome within the same species.[17]
From a thermodynamic point of view, in the presence of a neutral pH and a low redox potential, the inorganic synthesis of magnetite is favoured when compared to those of other iron oxides.[33] It would thus appear microaerophilic or anaerobic conditions create a suitable potential for the formation of BMPs. Moreover, all iron absorbed by the bacteria is rapidly converted into magnetite, indicating the formation of crystals is not preceded by the accumulation of intermediate iron compounds; this also suggests the structures and the enzymes necessary for biomineralisation are already present within the bacteria. These conclusions are also supported by the fact that MTB cultured in aerobic conditions (and thus nonmagnetic) contain amounts of iron comparable to any other species of bacteria.[34]
Symbiosis with other species
Symbiosis with magnetotactic bacteria has been proposed as the explanation for magnetoreception in some marine protists.[35] Research is underway on whether a similar relationship may underlie magnetoreception in vertebrates as well.[36]
Biotechnology applications
In certain types of applications, bacterial magnetite offers several advantages compared to chemically synthesized magnetite. substances to its surface, a characteristic important for many applications.
Magnetotactic bacterial cells have been used to determine south magnetic poles in
However, the prerequisite for any large-scale commercial application is mass cultivation of magnetotactic bacteria or the introduction and expression of the genes responsible for magnetosome synthesis into a bacterium, e.g.,
Further reading
- "The Formation of Iron Biominerals ", pp 159–184 in "Metals, Microbes and Minerals: The Biogeochemical Side of Life" (2021) pp xiv + 341. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin. Authors Uebe, René; Schüler, Dirk; Editors Kroneck, Peter M.H. and Sosa Torres, Martha. DOI 10.1515/9783110589771-006
Bibliography
- PMID 29581530.
- ISBN 978-0-674-03116-6.
- ISBN 0-7167-5060-0.
- ^ Bellini, S. (1963). Su di un particolare comportamento di batteri d'acqua dolce [On a unique behavior of freshwater bacteria] (PDF) (in Italian). Italy: Institute of Microbiology, University of Pavia.
- ^ Bellini, S. (1963). Ulteriori studi sui "batteri magnetosensibili" [Further studies on magnetosensitive bacteria] (PDF) (in Italian). Italy: Institute of Microbiology, University of Pavia.
- S2CID 86828549.
- S2CID 86147382.
- ^ S2CID 86672505.
- PMID 22092030.
- ^ Schaechter, Moselio, Ed.-in-Chief (2009). Encyclopedia of Microbiology, 3rd Ed. Vol. V. Academic Press, Elsevier. p. 230.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - S2CID 5139699.
- PMID 11543576.
- .
- ^ .
- ^ a b c d Cat Faber, Living Lodestones: Magnetotactic bacteria Archived 2006-05-07 at the Wayback Machine, Strange Horizons, 2001
- ^ S2CID 19044331.
- ^ .
- PMID 28193877.
- PMID 22360568.
- PMID 22778440.
- S2CID 205228624.
- PMID 13129949.
- ^ PMID 23607663.
- PMID 16959965.
- PMID 21191098.
- PMID 23184985.
- doi:10.1016/S0968-5677(98)00036-4.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 16535328.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 10517866.
- PMID 7667876.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - PMID 11283303.
- PMID 14607071.
- ^ Potential-pH diagrams for iron oxides in water
- PMID 9422606.
- PMID 31036911.
- PMID 32772668.
- PMID 14521720.)
{{cite journal}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
External links
- http://www.gps.caltech.edu/~jkirschvink/magnetofossil.html
- http://www.calpoly.edu/~rfrankel/mtbcalpoly.html
- Magnetotactic Bacteria Photo Gallery
- http://www.agu.org/revgeophys/moskow01/moskow01.html Archived 2007-01-11 at the Wayback Machine
- Comparative Genome Analysis of Four Magnetotactic Bacteria Reveals a Complex Set of Group-Specific Genes Implicated in Magnetosome Biomineralization and Function Journal of Bacteriology, July 2007