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A novel species of ellipsoidal multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes from L ake Y uehu in C hina
Author(s) -
Chen YiRan,
Zhang Rui,
Du HaiJian,
Pan HongMiao,
Zhang WenYan,
Zhou Ke,
Li JinHua,
Xiao Tian,
Wu LongFei
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12480
Subject(s) - magnetosome , biology , multicellular organism , magnetotactic bacteria , matrix metalloproteinase , ellipsoid , evolutionary biology , microbiology and biotechnology , gene , genetics , bacteria , physics , astronomy
Summary Two morphotypes of multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes ( MMPs ) have been identified: spherical (several species) and ellipsoidal (previously one species). Here, we report novel ellipsoidal MMPs that are ∼ 10 × 8 μm in size, and composed of about 86 cells arranged in six to eight interlaced circles. Each MMP was composed of cells that synthesized either bullet‐shaped magnetite magnetosomes alone, or both bullet‐shaped magnetite and rectangular greigite magnetosomes. They showed north‐seeking magnetotaxis, ping‐pong motility and negative phototaxis at a velocity up to 300 μm s −1 . During reproduction, they divided along either their long‐ or short‐body axes. For genetic analysis, we sorted the ellipsoidal MMPs with micromanipulation and amplified their genomes using multiple displacement amplification. We sequenced the 16 S r RNA gene and found 6.9% sequence divergence from that of ellipsoidal MMPs , Candidatus Magnetananas tsingtaoensis and > 8.3% divergence from those of spherical MMPs . Therefore, the novel MMPs belong to different species and genus compared with the currently known ellipsoidal and spherical MMPs respectively. The novel MMPs display a morphological cell differentiation, implying a potential division of labour. These findings provide new insights into the diversity of MMPs in general, and contribute to our understanding of the evolution of multicellularity among prokaryotes.