title: Biosynthesis of magnetic nanostructures in a foreign organism by transfer of bacterial magnetosome gene clusters.
abstract: The synthetic production of monodisperse single magnetic domain nanoparticles at ambient temperature is challenging. In nature, magnetosomes--membrane-bound magnetic nanocrystals with unprecedented magnetic properties--can be biomineralized by magnetotactic bacteria. However, these microbes are difficult to handle. Expression of the underlying biosynthetic pathway from these fastidious microorganisms within other organisms could therefore greatly expand their nanotechnological and biomedical applications. So far, this has been hindered by the structural and genetic complexity of the magnetosome organelle and insufficient knowledge of the biosynthetic functions involved. Here, we show that the ability to biomineralize highly ordered magnetic nanostructures can be transferred to a foreign recipient. Expression of a minimal set of genes from the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense resulted in magnetosome biosynthesis within the photosynthetic model organism Rhodospirillum rubrum. Our findings will enable the sustainable production of tailored magnetic nanostructures in biotechnologically relevant hosts and represent a step towards the endogenous magnetization of various organisms by synthetic biology.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kolinko
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lohße
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Borg
authors.affiliation: 1] Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany [2] Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Oliver
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Raschdorf
authors.affiliation: 1] Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany [2].
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jogler
authors.affiliation: 1] Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Saarland University, PO Box 151150, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany [2] Shandong University - Helmholtz Joint Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Life Science College, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Tu
authors.affiliation: University of Pannonia, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Veszprém, H-8200 Hungary.
authors.forename: Mihály
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pósfai
authors.affiliation: University of Pannonia, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Veszprém, H-8200 Hungary.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tompa
authors.affiliation: 1] Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Molecular Structural Biology, Am Klopferspitz 18, 82152 Martinsried, Germany [2] Bijvoet Center for Biomolecular Research, Utrecht University, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jürgen M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Plitzko
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brachmann
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wanner
authors.affiliation: Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research and Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Saarland University, PO Box 151150, 66041 Saarbrücken, Germany.
authors.forename: Rolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: Shandong University - Helmholtz Joint Institute of Biotechnology, State Key Laboratory of Microbial Technology, Life Science College, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
authors.forename: Youming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Department of Biology I, Großhaderner Straße 2-4, 82152 Martinsried, Germany.
authors.forename: Dirk
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schüler
mesh_terms: D001709:Biotechnology / Q000379:methods; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D055944:Magnetosomes / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D042201:Magnetospirillum / Q000235:genetics*; D005810:Multigene Family; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods; D012247:Rhodospirillum rubrum / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure