University of Bayreuth, Department of Microbiology, Universitätsstraße 30, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany.
Nat Rev Microbiol. 2016 Sep 13;14(10):621-37. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro.2016.99.
Magnetotactic bacteria derive their magnetic orientation from magnetosomes, which are unique organelles that contain nanometre-sized crystals of magnetic iron minerals. Although these organelles have evident potential for exciting biotechnological applications, a lack of genetically tractable magnetotactic bacteria had hampered the development of such tools; however, in the past decade, genetic studies using two model Magnetospirillum species have revealed much about the mechanisms of magnetosome biogenesis. In this Review, we highlight these new insights and place the molecular mechanisms of magnetosome biogenesis in the context of the complex cell biology of Magnetospirillum spp. Furthermore, we discuss the diverse properties of magnetosome biogenesis in other species of magnetotactic bacteria and consider the value of genetically 'magnetizing' non-magnetotactic bacteria. Finally, we discuss future prospects for this highly interdisciplinary and rapidly advancing field.
趋磁细菌通过磁小体获得磁性定向，磁小体是一种含有纳米级磁性铁矿物晶体的独特细胞器。尽管这些细胞器具有令人兴奋的生物技术应用潜力，但缺乏可遗传的趋磁细菌阻碍了这些工具的发展；然而，在过去的十年中，使用两种模式磁螺菌的遗传研究揭示了许多关于磁小体生物发生的机制。在这篇综述中，我们强调了这些新的见解，并将磁小体生物发生的分子机制置于磁螺菌复杂的细胞生物学背景下。此外，我们讨论了其他趋磁细菌物种中磁小体生物发生的不同特性，并考虑了对非趋磁细菌进行基因“磁化”的价值。最后，我们讨论了这个高度跨学科和快速发展的领域的未来前景。
