A Cultured Greigite-Producing Magnetotactic Bacterium in a Novel Group of Sulfate-Reducing Bacteria

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 334; no. 6063; pp. 1720 - 1723
• Main Authors: Lefèvre, Christopher T., Menguy, Nicolas, Abreu, Fernanda, Lins, Ulysses, Pósfai, Mihály, Prozorov, Tanya, Pignol, David, Frankel, Richard B., Bazylinski, Dennis A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Association for the Advancement of Science 23.12.2011; The American Association for the Advancement of Science; American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Bacteria; Bacteriology; Biological and medical sciences; California; Crystallization; Crystals; Culture Media; Deltaproteobacteria - classification; Deltaproteobacteria - genetics; Deltaproteobacteria - isolation & purification; Deltaproteobacteria - metabolism; Ecosystem; Ferrosoferric Oxide - analysis; Ferrosoferric Oxide - metabolism; Fresh water; Fresh Water - microbiology; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genes, rRNA; Genome, Bacterial; Geologic Sediments - microbiology; Iron - analysis; Iron - metabolism; Lakes; Magnetic fields; Magnetic Phenomena; Magnetite; Magnetosomes; Magnetosomes - chemistry; Microbial ecology; Microbiology; Minerals; National parks; Natural Springs - microbiology; Organic Chemistry; Oxidation-Reduction; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; Salinity; Sulfate reducing bacteria; Sulfates - metabolism; Sulfides - analysis; Sulfides - metabolism; Sulfur; Systematics; Various environments (extraatmospheric space, air, water); Water Microbiology; California; USA, California, Death Valley Natl. Park; USA, California; Taxis; Sulfate-reducing bacteria; Brackish water; Magnetotaxis
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.1212596

Magnetotactic bacteria contain magnetosomes—intracellular, membrane-bounded, magnetic nanocrystals of magnetite (Fe₃O₄) or greigite (Fe₃S₄)— that cause the bacteria to swim along geomagnetic field lines. We isolated a greigite-producing magnetotactic bacterium from a brackish spring in Death Valley National Park, California, USA, strain BW-1, that is able to biomineralize greigite and magnetite depending on culture conditions. A phylogenetic comparison of BW-1 and similar uncultured greigite- and/or magnetite-producing magnetotactic bacteria from freshwater to hypersaline habitats shows that these organisms represent a previously unknown group of sulfate-reducing bacteria in the Deltaproteobacteria. Genomic analysis of BW-1 reveals the presence of two different magnetosome gene clusters, suggesting that one may be responsible for greigite biomineralization and the other for magnetite.