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Dziuba MV, Müller FD, Pósfai M, Schüler D. Exploring the host range for genetic transfer of magnetic organelle biosynthesis. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2024; 19:115-123. [PMID: 37735601 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-023-01500-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
Magnetosomes produced by magnetotactic bacteria have great potential for application in biotechnology and medicine due to their unique physicochemical properties and high biocompatibility. Attempts to transfer the genes for magnetosome biosynthesis into non-magnetic organisms have had mixed results. Here we report on a systematic study to identify key components needed for magnetosome biosynthesis after gene transfer. We transfer magnetosome genes to 25 proteobacterial hosts, generating seven new magnetosome-producing strains. We characterize the recombinant magnetosomes produced by these strains and demonstrate that denitrification and anaerobic photosynthesis are linked to the ability to synthesize magnetosomes upon the gene transfer. In addition, we show that the number of magnetosomes synthesized by a foreign host negatively correlates with the guanine-cytosine content difference between the host and the gene donor. Our findings have profound implications for the generation of magnetized living cells and the potential for transgenic biogenic magnetic nanoparticle production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina V Dziuba
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Frank-Dietrich Müller
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Mihály Pósfai
- ELKH-PE Environmental Mineralogy Research Group, Veszprém, Hungary
- Research Institute of Biomolecular and Chemical Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary
| | - Dirk Schüler
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Geosciences, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany.
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Degli Esposti M, Guerrero G, Rogel MA, Issotta F, Rojas-Villalobos C, Quatrini R, Martinez-Romero E. The phylogeny of Acetobacteraceae: photosynthetic traits and deranged respiratory enzymes. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0057523. [PMID: 37975678 PMCID: PMC10715153 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00575-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Acetobacteraceae are one of the best known and most extensively studied groups of bacteria, which nowadays encompasses a variety of taxa that are very different from the vinegar-producing species defining the family. Our paper presents the most detailed phylogeny of all current taxa classified as Acetobacteraceae, for which we propose a taxonomic revision. Several of such taxa inhabit some of the most extreme environments on the planet, from the deserts of Antarctica to the Sinai desert, as well as acidic niches in volcanic sites like the one we have been studying in Patagonia. Our work documents the progressive variation of the respiratory chain in early branching Acetobacteraceae into the different respiratory chains of acidophilic taxa such as Acidocella and acetous taxa such as Acetobacter. Remarkably, several genomes retain remnants of ancestral photosynthetic traits and functional bc 1 complexes. Thus, we propose that the common ancestor of Acetobacteraceae was photosynthetic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Degli Esposti
- Center for Genomic Sciences, UNAM Campus de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Gabriela Guerrero
- Center for Genomic Sciences, UNAM Campus de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Marco A. Rogel
- Center for Genomic Sciences, UNAM Campus de Morelos, Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Francisco Issotta
- Centro Científico y Tecnológico de Excelencia Ciencia & Vida, Fundación Ciencia y Vida, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Genética Molecular y Microbiología, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, P. Universidad Católica, Santiago, Chile
| | - Camila Rojas-Villalobos
- Centro Científico y Tecnológico de Excelencia Ciencia & Vida, Fundación Ciencia y Vida, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Ingeniería, Arquitectura y Diseño, Universidad San Sebastián, Santiago, Chile
| | - Raquel Quatrini
- Centro Científico y Tecnológico de Excelencia Ciencia & Vida, Fundación Ciencia y Vida, Huechuraba, Santiago, Chile
- Facultad de Medicina y Ciencia, Universidad San Sebastián, Providencia, Santiago, Chile
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Shen J, Paterson GA, Wang Y, Kirschvink JL, Pan Y, Lin W. Renaissance for magnetotactic bacteria in astrobiology. THE ISME JOURNAL 2023; 17:1526-1534. [PMID: 37592065 PMCID: PMC10504353 DOI: 10.1038/s41396-023-01495-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Capable of forming magnetofossils similar to some magnetite nanocrystals observed in the Martian meteorite ALH84001, magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) once occupied a special position in the field of astrobiology during the 1990s and 2000s. This flourish of interest in putative Martian magnetofossils faded from all but the experts studying magnetosome formation, based on claims that abiotic processes could produce magnetosome-like magnetite crystals. Recently, the rapid growth in our knowledge of the extreme environments in which MTB thrive and their phylogenic heritage, leads us to advocate for a renaissance of MTB in astrobiology. In recent decades, magnetotactic members have been discovered alive in natural extreme environments with wide ranges of salinity (up to 90 g L-1), pH (1-10), and temperature (0-70 °C). Additionally, some MTB populations are found to be able to survive irradiated, desiccated, metal-rich, hypomagnetic, or microgravity conditions, and are capable of utilizing simple inorganic compounds such as sulfate and nitrate. Moreover, MTB likely emerged quite early in Earth's history, coinciding with a period when the Martian surface was covered with liquid water as well as a strong magnetic field. MTB are commonly discovered in suboxic or oxic-anoxic interfaces in aquatic environments or sediments similar to ancient crater lakes on Mars, such as Gale crater and Jezero crater. Taken together, MTB can be exemplary model microorganisms in astrobiology research, and putative ancient Martian life, if it ever occurred, could plausibly have included magnetotactic microorganisms. Furthermore, we summarize multiple typical biosignatures that can be applied for the detection of ancient MTB on Earth and extraterrestrial MTB-like life. We suggest transporting MTB to space stations and simulation chambers to further investigate their tolerance potential and distinctive biosignatures to aid in understanding the evolutionary history of MTB and the potential of magnetofossils as an extraterrestrial biomarker.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianxun Shen
- Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
- France-China Joint Laboratory for Evolution and Development of Magnetotactic Multicellular Organisms, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing, China
| | - Greig A Paterson
- Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 7ZE, UK
| | - Yinzhao Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Microbial Metabolism, School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, 200240, China
| | - Joseph L Kirschvink
- Division of Geological & Planetary Sciences, Calfiornia Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA
- Marine Core Research Institute, Kochi University, Kochi, 780-8520, Japan
| | - Yongxin Pan
- Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China
- France-China Joint Laboratory for Evolution and Development of Magnetotactic Multicellular Organisms, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing, China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Wei Lin
- Key Laboratory of Earth and Planetary Physics, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China.
- France-China Joint Laboratory for Evolution and Development of Magnetotactic Multicellular Organisms, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100029, Beijing, China.
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Awal RP, Lefevre CT, Schüler D. Functional expression of foreign magnetosome genes in the alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. mBio 2023; 14:e0328222. [PMID: 37318230 PMCID: PMC10470508 DOI: 10.1128/mbio.03282-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Magnetosomes of magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) consist of structurally perfect, nano-sized magnetic crystals enclosed within vesicles of a proteo-lipid membrane. In species of Magnetospirillum, biosynthesis of their cubo-octahedral-shaped magnetosomes was recently demonstrated to be a complex process, governed by about 30 specific genes that are comprised within compact magnetosome gene clusters (MGCs). Similar, yet distinct gene clusters were also identified in diverse MTB that biomineralize magnetosome crystals with different, genetically encoded morphologies. However, since most representatives of these groups are inaccessible by genetic and biochemical approaches, their analysis will require the functional expression of magnetosome genes in foreign hosts. Here, we studied whether conserved essential magnetosome genes from closely and remotely related MTB can be functionally expressed by rescue of their respective mutants in the tractable model Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense of the Alphaproteobacteria. Upon chromosomal integration, single orthologues from other magnetotactic Alphaproteobacteria restored magnetosome biosynthesis to different degrees, while orthologues from distantly related Magnetococcia and Deltaproteobacteria were found to be expressed but failed to re-induce magnetosome biosynthesis, possibly due to poor interaction with their cognate partners within multiprotein magnetosome organelle of the host. Indeed, co-expression of the known interactors MamB and MamM from the alphaproteobacterium Magnetovibrio blakemorei increased functional complementation. Furthermore, a compact and portable version of the entire MGCs of M. magneticum was assembled by transformation-associated recombination cloning, and it restored the ability to biomineralize magnetite both in deletion mutants of the native donor and M. gryphiswaldense, while co-expression of gene clusters from both M. gryphiswaldense and M. magneticum resulted in overproduction of magnetosomes. IMPORTANCE We provide proof of principle that Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense is a suitable surrogate host for the functional expression of foreign magnetosome genes and extended the transformation-associated recombination cloning platform for the assembly of entire large magnetosome gene cluster, which could then be transplanted to different magnetotactic bacteria. The reconstruction, transfer, and analysis of gene sets or entire magnetosome clusters will be also promising for engineering the biomineralization of magnetite crystals with different morphologies that would be valuable for biotechnical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ram Prasad Awal
- Department of Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Christopher T. Lefevre
- Aix-Marseille Université, CEA, CNRS, Institute of Biosciences and Biotechnologies of Aix-Marseille, Saint-Paul-lez-Durance, France
| | - Dirk Schüler
- Department of Microbiology, University of Bayreuth, Bayreuth, Germany
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