Article | REF: BIO4250 V1

Magnetotactic bacteria and their nanomagnets

Authors: Christopher T. LEFÈVRE, Nicolas GINET, Nicolas MENGUY, David PIGNOL

Publication date: November 10, 2012

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


Overview

Français

Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.

Read the article

AUTHORS

  • Christopher T. LEFÈVRE: Post-doctoral fellow at the Cell Bioenergetics Laboratory, CEA Cadarache

  • Nicolas GINET: CNRS Research Fellow, Cellular Bioenergetics Laboratory, CEA Cadarache

  • Nicolas MENGUY: Professor at the Institute of Mineralogy and Physics of Condensed Media, Pierre et Marie Curie University

  • David PIGNOL: CEA Researcher, Head of the Cell Bioenergetics Laboratory, CEA Cadarache

 INTRODUCTION

Magnetotactic bacteria are mobile, gram-negative prokaryotes that biosynthesize intracellular crystals of iron oxide or sulfide. These magnetic nanocrystals are surrounded by a membrane and aligned in a chain in the bacterium's cytoplasm. They are then called "magnetosomes" and enable the cell to orient itself and swim along lines of magnetic field, whether artificial or terrestrial. Richard Blakemore first described magnetosomes in magnetotactic bacteria in 1975 .

Magnetotactic bacteria are ubiquitous microorganisms found in aquatic sediments or the column of stratified water bodies, mainly in the oxic-anoxic transition zone or just below, in the anoxic zone. They can be found in both seawater and freshwater. This group of prokaryotes is morphologically, phylogenetically and physiologically highly diverse. However, only a few magnetotactic bacteria have been isolated in pure culture, and little is known about their metabolic plasticity. At present, the best described magnetotactic species belong to the Magnetospirillum genus. Representatives of this genus are reproducibly grown in large quantities, and most of them can be genetically manipulated. Thus, most of our fundamental knowledge of the metabolism, genetics and biochemistry of magnetotactic bacteria comes from studies carried out on species belonging to this genus. Magnetospirillum are also at the origin of numerous studies exploiting the potential of magnetotactic bacteria, or just their magnetosomes, for biotechnological applications.

In this article, we will present the state of fundamental knowledge on the biodiversity of magnetotactic bacteria and the molecular mechanisms involved in synthesizing the crystals they biomineralize. The potential uses of magnetotactic bacteria in fields such as geology and biotechnology will then be detailed.

You do not have access to this resource.

Exclusive to subscribers. 97% yet to be discovered!

You do not have access to this resource.
Click here to request your free trial access!

Already subscribed? Log in!


The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference

A Comprehensive Knowledge Base, with over 1,200 authors and 100 scientific advisors
+ More than 10,000 articles and 1,000 how-to sheets, over 800 new or updated articles every year
From design to prototyping, right through to industrialization, the reference for securing the development of your industrial projects

This article is included in

Bioprocesses and bioproductions

This offer includes:

Knowledge Base

Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees

Services

A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources

Practical Path

Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills

Doc & Quiz

Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading

Subscribe now!

Ongoing reading
Magnetotactic bacteria and their nanomagnets