Location
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building
Start Date
9-8-2011 10:15 AM
End Date
9-8-2011 12:00 PM
Description
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) biomineralize intracellular nanometer-sized, magnetic crystals surrounded by a lipid bilayer membrane known as magnetosomes. These crystals, which consist of magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4), causes the cell to align along the geomagnetic field lines as they swim, a phenomenon known as magnetotaxis. Strain BW-2 is a magnetite-producing magnetotactic bacterium isolated from Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park (California) and is one of only two species of MTB that are known to phylogenetically belong to the Gammaproteobacteria class of the Proteobacteria phylum. The biomineralization of magnetite in magnetotactic bacteria is mediated by a series of genes that include the mam, mms, and mtx genes that presumably control the production of and the size and shape of the magnetite crystal within the magnetosomes. Magnetosome genes have not yet been found in the genomes of newly discovered magnetotactic Gammaproteobacteria.
In this study, we use polymerase chain reaction with degenerate primers designed from mam genes found in other MTB, and DNA sequencing to search for and amplify possible mam genes in the Gammaproteobacterium strain BW-2. In addition, with enough DNA sequence, we may be able to find evidence of the presence of a magnetosome gene island in this organism. Positive results from this study will be instrumental in determining evidence for lateral gene transfer of the magnetosome gene island to the Gammaproteobacteria and the evolution of magnetotaxis based on magnetite biomineralization in general.
Keywords
Magnetosomes; Magnetotactic bacteria; Nucleotide sequence
Disciplines
Computational Biology | Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Genetics and Genomics
Language
English
Magnetosome genes in the Gammaproteobacterium strain BW-2
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Science and Education Building
Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) biomineralize intracellular nanometer-sized, magnetic crystals surrounded by a lipid bilayer membrane known as magnetosomes. These crystals, which consist of magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4), causes the cell to align along the geomagnetic field lines as they swim, a phenomenon known as magnetotaxis. Strain BW-2 is a magnetite-producing magnetotactic bacterium isolated from Badwater Basin, Death Valley National Park (California) and is one of only two species of MTB that are known to phylogenetically belong to the Gammaproteobacteria class of the Proteobacteria phylum. The biomineralization of magnetite in magnetotactic bacteria is mediated by a series of genes that include the mam, mms, and mtx genes that presumably control the production of and the size and shape of the magnetite crystal within the magnetosomes. Magnetosome genes have not yet been found in the genomes of newly discovered magnetotactic Gammaproteobacteria.
In this study, we use polymerase chain reaction with degenerate primers designed from mam genes found in other MTB, and DNA sequencing to search for and amplify possible mam genes in the Gammaproteobacterium strain BW-2. In addition, with enough DNA sequence, we may be able to find evidence of the presence of a magnetosome gene island in this organism. Positive results from this study will be instrumental in determining evidence for lateral gene transfer of the magnetosome gene island to the Gammaproteobacteria and the evolution of magnetotaxis based on magnetite biomineralization in general.
Comments
Research sponsored by: NSF grant # DBI 1005223 and # EAR-0920718