Pure culture of magnetotactic bacteria is desirable to understand their physiology, evolution and biomineralization. Here, we report a new strain Magnetospirillum sp. XM-1 that was recently isolated and cultivated from the eutrophic city moat of Xi'an, China. Magnetosome biomineralization, crystallographic and magnetic properties of XM-1 were characterized by using a combination of transmission electron microscopy and rock magnetic methods. Cell growth and magnetite production was optimized by response surface methodology. We found that the Magnetospirillum strain XM-1 is different from the model strain Magnetospirillum magneticum AMB-1 in terms of magnetite magnetosomes, optimal growth temperature and nutrient requirements. Sodium succinate, sodium nitrate and ferric citrate are the three most significant factors associated with the optimization of cell growth and magnetosome production for XM-1.
Keywords: Magnetospirillum sp. XM-1; magnetic properties; magnetite formation; magnetosome production; magnetotactic bacteria; response surface methodology optimization.
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