The Magnetosome Protein, Mms6 from Magnetospirillum magneticum Strain AMB-1, Is a Lipid-Activated Ferric Reductase.

ABSTRACT: Magnetosomes of magnetotactic bacteria consist of magnetic nanocrystals with defined morphologies enclosed in vesicles originated from cytoplasmic membrane invaginations. Although many proteins are involved in creating magnetosomes, a single magnetosome protein, Mms6 from Magnetospirillum magneticum strain AMB-1, can direct the crystallization of magnetite nanoparticles in vitro. The in vivo role of Mms6 in magnetosome formation is debated, and the observation that Mms6 binds Fe³⁺ more tightly than Fe²⁺ raises the question of how, in a magnetosome environment dominated by Fe³⁺, Mms6 promotes the crystallization of magnetite, which contains both Fe³⁺ and Fe²⁺. Here we show that Mms6 is a ferric reductase that reduces Fe³⁺

SUBMITTER: Singappuli-Arachchige D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9499114 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature