Deletion of the ftsZ-like gene results in the production of superparamagnetic magnetite magnetosomes in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.

ABSTRACT: Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) synthesize unique organelles termed "magnetosomes," which are membrane-enclosed structures containing crystals of magnetite or greigite. Magnetosomes form a chain around MamK cytoskeletal filaments and provide the basis for the ability of MTB to navigate along geomagnetic field lines in order to find optimal microaerobic habitats. Genomes of species of the MTB genus Magnetospirillum, in addition to a gene encoding the tubulin-like FtsZ protein (involved in cell division), contain a second gene termed "ftsZ-like," whose function is unknown. In the present study, we found that the ftsZ-like gene of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense strain MSR-1 belongs to a 4.9-kb mamXY polycistronic transcription unit. We then purified the recombinant FtsZ-like protein to homogen

SUBMITTER: Ding Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2812952 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature