Matsunaga_2005_DNA.Res_12_157

Magnetospirillum sp. strain AMB-1 is a Gram-negative alpha-proteobacterium that synthesizes nano-sized magnetites, referred to as magnetosomes, aligned intracellularly in a chain. The potential of this nano-sized material is growing and will be applicable to broad research areas. It has been expected that genome analysis would elucidate the mechanism of magnetosome formation by magnetic bacteria. Here we describe the genome of Magnetospirillum sp. AMB-1 wild type, which consists of a single circular chromosome of 4967148 bp. For identification of genes required for magnetosome formation, transposon mutagenesis and determination of magnetosome membrane proteins were performed. Analysis of a non-magnetic transposon mutant library focused on three unknown genes from 2752 unknown genes and three genes from 205 signal transduction genes. Partial proteome analysis of the magnetosome membrane revealed that the membrane contains numerous oxidation/reduction proteins and a signal response regulator that may function in magnetotaxis. Thus, oxidation/reduction proteins and elaborate multidomain signaling proteins were analyzed. This comprehensive genome analysis will enable resolution of the mechanisms of magnetosome formation and provide a template to determine how magnetic bacteria maintain a species-specific, nano-sized, magnetic single domain and paramagnetic morphology.