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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2004, p. 3624-3631, Vol. 70, No. 6
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.6.3624-3631.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Inactivation of the Flagellin Gene flaA in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense Results in Nonmagnetotactic Mutants Lacking Flagellar Filaments

Daniel Schultheiss,1 Michael Kube,2 and Dirk Schüler1*

Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, 28359 Bremen,1 Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics, 14195 Berlin-Dahlem, Germany2

Received 17 November 2003/ Accepted 26 February 2004

Magnetotactic bacteria synthesize magnetosomes, which cause them to orient and migrate along magnetic field lines. The analysis of magnetotaxis and magnetosome biomineralization at the molecular level has been hindered by the unavailability of genetic methods, namely the lack of a means to introduce directed gene-specific mutations. Here we report a method for knockout mutagenesis by homologous recombination in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. Multiple flagellin genes, which are unlinked in the genome, were identified in M. gryphiswaldense. The targeted disruption of the flagellin gene flaA was shown to eliminate flagella formation, motility, and magnetotaxis. The techniques described in this paper will make it possible to take full advantage of the forthcoming genome sequences of M. gryphiswaldense and other magnetotactic bacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: MPI F. Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstr. 1, 28359 Bremen, Germany. Phone: 49 421 2028 746. Fax: 49 421 2028 580. E-mail: dschuele{at}mpi-bremen.de.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2004, p. 3624-3631, Vol. 70, No. 6
0099-2240/04/$08.00+0     DOI: 10.1128/AEM.70.6.3624-3631.2004
Copyright © 2004, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Lang, C., Pollithy, A., Schuler, D. (2009). Identification of Promoters for Efficient Gene Expression in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 4206-4210 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Lang, C., Schuler, D. (2008). Expression of Green Fluorescent Protein Fused to Magnetosome Proteins in Microaerophilic Magnetotactic Bacteria. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 74: 4944-4953 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Scheffel, A., Gardes, A., Grunberg, K., Wanner, G., Schuler, D. (2008). The Major Magnetosome Proteins MamGFDC Are Not Essential for Magnetite Biomineralization in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense but Regulate the Size of Magnetosome Crystals. J. Bacteriol. 190: 377-386 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ullrich, S., Kube, M., Schubbe, S., Reinhardt, R., Schuler, D. (2005). A Hypervariable 130-Kilobase Genomic Region of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense Comprises a Magnetosome Island Which Undergoes Frequent Rearrangements during Stationary Growth. J. Bacteriol. 187: 7176-7184 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Schultheiss, D., Handrick, R., Jendrossek, D., Hanzlik, M., Schuler, D. (2005). The Presumptive Magnetosome Protein Mms16 Is a Poly(3-Hydroxybutyrate) Granule-Bound Protein (Phasin) in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. J. Bacteriol. 187: 2416-2425 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


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