This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Lin, W.
Right arrow Articles by Pan, Y.
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Lin, W.
Right arrow Articles by Pan, Y.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Lin, W.
Right arrow Articles by Pan, Y.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 4046-4052, Vol. 75, No. 12
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00247-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Uncultivated Magnetotactic Cocci from Yuandadu Park in Beijing, China{triangledown}

Wei Lin1,2 and Yongxin Pan1*

Bio-geomagnetism Group, Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory (SKL-LE), Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100029, China,1 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100039, China2

Received 2 February 2009/ Accepted 9 April 2009

In the present study, we investigated a group of uncultivated magnetotactic cocci, which was magnetically isolated from a freshwater pond in Beijing, China. Light and transmission electron microscopy showed that these cocci ranged from 1.5 to 2.5 µm and contained two to four chains of magnetite magnetosomes, which sometimes were partially disorganized. Overall, the size of the disorganized magnetosomes was significantly smaller than that arranged in chains. All characterized magnetosome crystals were elongated (shape factor = 0.64) and fall into the single-domain size range (30 to 115 nm). Comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis and fluorescence in situ hybridization showed that the enriched bacteria were a virtually homogeneous population and represented a novel lineage in the Alphaproteobacteria. The closest cultivated relative was magnetotactic coccoid strain MC-1 (88% sequence identity). First-order reversal curve diagrams revealed that these cocci had relatively strong magnetic interactions compared to the single-chain magnetotactic bacteria. Low-temperature magnetic measurements showed that the Verwey transition of them was ~108 K, confirming magnetite magnetosomes, and the delta ratio {delta}FC/{delta}ZFC was >2. Based on the structure, phylogenetic position and magnetic properties, the enriched magnetotactic cocci of Alphaproteobacteria are provisionally named as "Candidatus Magnetococcus yuandaducum."

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Paleomagnetism and Geochronology Laboratory, State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 19 Bei Tu Cheng Xi Road, Beijing 100029, China. Phone: 86 (0)10 8299 8406. Fax: 86 (0)10 6237 2053. E-mail: yxpan{at}mail.iggcas.ac.cn

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 17 April 2009.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 4046-4052, Vol. 75, No. 12
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.00247-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»