Key gene networks that control magnetosome biomineralization in magnetotactic bacteria

Peiyu Liu; Yue Zheng; Rongrong Zhang; Jinling Bai; Kelei Zhu; Karim Benzerara; Nicolas Menguy; Xiang Zhao; Andrew P Roberts; Yongxin Pan; Jinhua Li

doi:10.1093/nsr/nwac238

Key gene networks that control magnetosome biomineralization in magnetotactic bacteria

Natl Sci Rev. 2022 Oct 28;10(1):nwac238. doi: 10.1093/nsr/nwac238. eCollection 2023 Jan.

Authors

Peiyu Liu^{1

2

3

4}, Yue Zheng⁵, Rongrong Zhang^{1

2

3

4}, Jinling Bai^{1

2

3

4}, Kelei Zhu^{1

2

3

4}, Karim Benzerara⁶, Nicolas Menguy⁶, Xiang Zhao⁷, Andrew P Roberts⁷, Yongxin Pan^{1

4}, Jinhua Li^{1

2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Innovation Academy for Earth Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China.
² Laboratory for Marine Geology, Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology, Qingdao 266061, China.
³ Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Zhuhai 519082, China.
⁴ College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science/College of the Environment and Ecology, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361102, China.
⁶ Sorbonne Université, UMR CNRS 7590, MNHN, IRD, Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, IMPMC, Paris 75005, France.
⁷ Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia.

Abstract

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are a group of phylogenetically and morphologically diverse prokaryotes that have the capability of sensing Earth's magnetic field via nanocrystals of magnetic iron minerals. These crystals are enclosed within intracellular membranes or organelles known as magnetosomes and enable a sensing function known as magnetotaxis. Although MTB were discovered over half a century ago, the study of the magnetosome biogenesis and organization remains limited to a few cultured MTB strains. Here, we present an integrative genomic and phenomic analysis to investigate the genetic basis of magnetosome biomineralization in both cultured and uncultured strains from phylogenetically diverse MTB groups. The magnetosome gene contents/networks of strains are correlated with magnetic particle morphology and chain configuration. We propose a general model for gene networks that control/regulate magnetosome biogenesis and chain assembly in MTB systems.

Keywords: chain assembly; gene networks; integrative genomics and phenomics; magnetosome biomineralization; magnetotactic bacteria.