Flagellar apparatus of south‐seeking many‐celled magnetotactic prokaryotes

Abstract:

Magnetotactic bacteria orient and migrate along geomagnetic field lines. Each cell contains membrane‐enclosed, nano‐scale, iron‐mineral particles called magnetosomes that cause alignment of the cell in the geomagnetic field as the bacteria swim propelled by flagella. In this work we studied the ultrastructure of the flagellar apparatus in many‐celled magnetotactic prokaryotes (MMP) that consist of several Gram‐negative cells arranged radially around an acellular compartment. Flagella covered the organism surface, and were observed exclusively at the portion of each cell that faced the environment. The flagella were helical tubes never as long as a complete turn of the helix. Flagellar filaments varied in length from 0.9 to 3.8 μm (average 2.4 ± 0.5 μm, n = 150) and in width from 12.0 to 19.5 nm (average 15.9 ± 1.4 nm, n = 52), which is different from previous reports for similar microorganisms. At the base of the …

Año de publicación:

2007

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