Journal
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 13, Issue 1, Pages -Publisher
NATURE PORTFOLIO
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-32914-9
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health S10 program [1S10OD018136-01]
- NIGMS Maximizing Investigators' Research Award [R35GM127114]
- Fondation pour la Recherche Medicale [ARF201909009123]
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program [DGE 110640]
- JSPS KAKENHI [19H02868, 17KK0145]
- French National Research Agency [ANCESMAG: ANR20-CE92-0050]
- SPUR grant from the Rausser College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley
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Magnetotactic bacteria use chains of ferrimagnetic nanocrystals to navigate along the geomagnetic field, and genes mcaA and mcaB control the fragmentation of magnetosome chains. McaA and McaB, along with the MamK cytoskeleton, create space for the addition of new magnetosomes. These findings reveal the mechanism of magnetosome positioning.
Magnetotactic bacteria are a diverse group of microorganisms that use intracellular chains of ferrimagnetic nanocrystals, produced within magnetosome organelles, to align and navigate along the geomagnetic field. Several conserved genes for magnetosome formation have been described, but the mechanisms leading to distinct species-specific magnetosome chain configurations remain unclear. Here, we show that the fragmented nature of magnetosome chains in Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 is controlled by genes mcaA and mcaB. McaA recognizes the positive curvature of the inner cell membrane, while McaB localizes to magnetosomes. Along with the MamK actin-like cytoskeleton, McaA and McaB create space for addition of new magnetosomes in between pre-existing magnetosomes. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that McaA and McaB homologs are widespread among magnetotactic bacteria and may represent an ancient strategy for magnetosome positioning.
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