The major magnetosome proteins MamGFDC are not essential for magnetite biomineralization in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense but regulate the size of magnetosome crystals.

ABSTRACT: Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense and related magnetotactic bacteria form magnetosomes, which are membrane-enclosed organelles containing crystals of magnetite (Fe3O4) that cause the cells to orient in magnetic fields. The characteristic sizes, morphologies, and patterns of alignment of magnetite crystals are controlled by vesicles formed of the magnetosome membrane (MM), which contains a number of specific proteins whose precise roles in magnetosome formation have remained largely elusive. Here, we report on a functional analysis of the small hydrophobic MamGFDC proteins, which altogether account for nearly 35% of all proteins associated with the MM. Although their high levels of abundance and conservation among magnetotactic bacteria had suggested a major role in magnetosome formation, we

SUBMITTER: Scheffel A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2223754 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature