Phylogenetic and genomic insights into magnetosome biomineralization in magnetotactic <i>Alphaproteobacteria</i>.

ABSTRACT: Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) biomineralize intracellular, membrane-enclosed magnetite or greigite nanocrystals (magnetosomes). How magnetosome gene clusters (MGCs) control magnetosome morphology and evolve across lineages remains central to reconstructing the history of magnetotaxis. Here, we report five uncultured MTB strains from Yuyuantan Lake (Beijing, China), all within Rhodospirillales order (Alphaproteobacteria class). Using phylogenetics, fluorescence in situ hybridization-scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy, we show that magnetosome morphology is more strongly constrained by phylogeny than by cell morphology. Whole-genome comparisons and MGC phylogenies indicate that vertical inheritance predominates at the genus level, whereas t

SUBMITTER: Zhang R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12724286 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature