Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America.
Department of Plant and Microbial Biology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, United States of America.
PLoS Genet. 2020 Feb 13;16(2):e1008499. doi: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008499. eCollection 2020 Feb.
Many species of bacteria can manufacture materials on a finer scale than those that are synthetically made. These products are often produced within intracellular compartments that bear many hallmarks of eukaryotic organelles. One unique and elegant group of organisms is at the forefront of studies into the mechanisms of organelle formation and biomineralization. Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) produce organelles called magnetosomes that contain nanocrystals of magnetic material, and understanding the molecular mechanisms behind magnetosome formation and biomineralization is a rich area of study. In this Review, we focus on the genetics behind the formation of magnetosomes and biomineralization. We cover the history of genetic discoveries in MTB and key insights that have been found in recent years and provide a perspective on the future of genetic studies in MTB.
许多细菌能够制造比合成材料更精细的物质。这些产物通常在具有真核细胞器诸多特征的细胞内隔室中产生。一类独特而优雅的生物体处于细胞器形成和生物矿化机制研究的前沿。磁细菌 (MTB) 产生含有磁性纳米晶体的细胞器，称为磁小体，了解磁小体形成和生物矿化的分子机制是一个丰富的研究领域。在这篇综述中，我们重点介绍了磁小体形成和生物矿化的遗传学基础。我们涵盖了 MTB 遗传发现的历史以及近年来发现的关键见解，并对 MTB 遗传研究的未来提供了一个视角。
