Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 28, 2026

Growing Magnetotactic Bacteria of the Genus Magnetospirillum: Strains MSR-1, AMB-1 and MS-1
Published on: October 17, 2018
Identification of iron transporters expressed in the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum
Azuma Taoka1, Chihiro Umeyama, Yoshihiro Fukumori
1Department of Life Science, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kakuma-machi, Kanazawa, Japan.
Abstract:
The magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum MS-1 mineralizes the magnetite (Fe(3)O(4)) crystal and organizes a highly ordered intracellular structure, called the magnetosome. However, the iron transport system, which supports the biogenesis of magnetite, is not fully understood. In this study, we first identified the expressions of both the ferric and the ferrous iron transporter proteins in M. magnetotacticum. The cellular protein compositions of ferric and ferrous iron-rich cultures were examined using two-dimensional electrophoresis. According to the gel patterns, two outer-membrane ferric-siderophore receptor homologues were identified as proteins strongly induced in the ferrous iron-rich condition. Also, we identified for the first time that the ferrous iron transport protein, FeoB, is expressed in the M. magnetotacticum cytoplasmic membrane using immunoblotting.
Related Concept Videos
Other Unique Bacteria
Microbes and Other Elemental Cycles
The Significance of Membrane Transport
Transporters facilitate either an active or passive movement of solutes. They can allow a single-molecule transport down its...
Microbial Nutrition
ABC Transporters: Importer
In bacteria, based on the number of transmembrane helices and the chemical nature of their substrates, the ABC importers can be divided into three types:
Cell Inclusions

