MamA as a Model Protein for Structure-Based Insight into the Evolutionary Origins of Magnetotactic Bacteria.

ABSTRACT: MamA is a highly conserved protein found in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB), a diverse group of prokaryotes capable of navigating according to magnetic fields - an ability known as magnetotaxis. Questions surround the acquisition of this magnetic navigation ability; namely, whether it arose through horizontal or vertical gene transfer. Though its exact function is unknown, MamA surrounds the magnetosome, the magnetic organelle embedding a biomineralised nanoparticle and responsible for magnetotaxis. Several structures for MamA from a variety of species have been determined and show a high degree of structural similarity. By determining the structure of MamA from Desulfovibrio magneticus RS-1 using X-ray crystallography, we have opened up the structure-sequence landscape. As such, this allows

SUBMITTER: Zeytuni N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4482739 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature