Magnetic bacteria possess extraordinary capabilities due to the magnetic nanoparticles, the magnetosomes, which are concatenated inside their cells. A research team at the University of Bayreuth has now transferred all of the approximately 30 genes responsible for the production of these particles to non-magnetic bacteria in a broad series of experiments.
Based on extensive studies, the researchers initially identified 25 species of non-magnetic proteobacteria—by far the most extensive domain of bacteria—that are particularly suitable for gene transfer and for studying magnetosome formation. Both biochemical properties and the availability of specific gene sequences were decisive factors.
Magnetization was successful in seven species: these bacteria continuously produce magnetosomes in which iron-containing magnetite crystals are chained together in a manner similar to that in the donor bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.
“In terms of future applications in biomedicine, it is particularly promising that two species of bacteria that we have successfully genetically engineered are already widely used in biotechnology.”
“According to the current state of research, they are well compatible with human cells. This opens up new perspectives for a variety of biomedical applications—for example, for microrobot-controlled transport of active pharmaceutical ingredients, for magnetic imaging techniques, or even for optimizations of hyperthermia cancer therapy,” says the first author of the new study, Dr. Marina Dziuba, who is a research associate at the Microbiology research group in Bayreuth.
The Bayreuth researchers have studied the magnetosomes produced by the new transgenic bacterial strains in more detail and thus identified a number of factors that could be causally involved in magnetosome formation.
Comparison between the genome of these strains and the genome of those genetically modified bacteria that failed to produce magnetosomes has also led to valuable insights. There is much evidence to suggest that the magnetosome formation of transgenic bacterial strains is closely related to their ability to photosynthesize or to engage in oxygen-independent, so-called anaerobic respiration processes.
Overall, the new study shows that it is not single or a few particular genes that transgenic bacteria lack when they are incapable of magnetosome formation. Rather, the decisive factor for them to synthesize magnetosomes after receiving the foreign gene clusters is a combination of certain metabolic properties and the ability to efficiently use the genetic information of the foreign genes to produce cellular proteins.
“Our study shows that further research is needed to understand the biosynthesis of magnetosomes in detail, identify barriers to their transfer, and develop strategies to overcome them. At the same time, however, our results shed new light on metabolic processes that support magnetosome formation. They therefore provide a framework for future investigations on the way to designing new strains of biocompatible magnetic bacteria tailored for biomedical and biotechnological innovations,” explains Prof. Dr. Dirk Schüler, Chair of Microbiology at the University of Bayreuth.
In earlier research, the Bayreuth team had already succeeded in introducing the genes responsible for magnetosome formation from the bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense—a model organism for research—into the genome of non-magnetic bacteria. However, in only a few cases, this gene transfer resulted in genetically modified bacteria that, in turn, began to form magnetosomes.
It remained completely unclear which factors might influence whether transgenic bacteria produced magnetosomes. Against this background, the study now published, in which a research partner at the University of Pannonia in Veszprém/Hungary also participated, provides important new impetus for the targeted magnetization of living cells.
News
A Hidden DNA Mechanism Could Explain How 20% of Human Cancers Develop
Researchers have identified an unexpected molecular vulnerability in cancers carrying BAF mutations. Mutations found in roughly 20% of human cancers may promote tumor growth by changing how DNA is organized inside cells. Researchers have [...]
Ebola kills over 5,300 in fastest-growing outbreak on record
Africa’s latest Ebola outbreak has killed nearly 5,400 people, the vast majority of them in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to the continent’s top health agency. Africa Centres for Disease Control and [...]
China makes early progress in using sound waves to stimulate damaged brains
Chinese researchers are testing whether focused ultrasound can help restore consciousness in patients with severe brain injuries, adding to a growing international effort to use sound waves to stimulate deep brain structures without surgery. [...]
Micro-drones fly through the body thanks to ultrasound
At the EPFL, micro-drones have been developed that can be moved without a motor or battery.No motors, no batteries, no electronics on board, just small cavities that convert sound waves into thrust: this is [...]
A Single Enzyme Could Hold the Key to Treating a Devastating Brain Disorder
Blocking an enzyme’s production restored brain growth and healthy behaviors in mice engineered to develop Angelman syndrome, pointing to a possible treatment target. Children with Angelman syndrome begin to show difficulties with thinking and [...]
Scientists Develop a Clever New Way To Kill Cancer Cells From the Inside
Scientists have developed an experimental strategy that exploits a chemical byproduct of cancer cells to produce anticancer drugs directly inside them. Scientists in Japan have developed an experimental method that uses a chemical produced [...]
Our books are available worldwide!
Online Sellers other than Amazon, Routledge, and IOPP Indigo Global Health Care Equivalency in the Age of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine and Artifcial Intelligence Global Health Care Equivalency In The Age Of Nanotechnology, Nanomedicine And Artificial [...]
After only a short training, people in a coma managed to send targeted signals
Researchers have succeeded in communicating with brain-injured patients who are unconscious. They see enormous potential in this for future treatments. Patients who lie motionless in bed after a severe brain injury and do not [...]
MIT Scientists Reprogram Immune Cells Inside the Body To Destroy Cancer
Natural killer cells reprogrammed inside mice eliminated lymphoma tumors and helped damaged livers heal, though whether this approach could help people with cancer or autoimmune disease remains unknown. To make a cancer treatment from [...]
Melanoma mRNA Vaccine Shows Promise in Preventing Disease Recurrence
Key takeaways: Phase 3 trial finds personalized intismeran plus pembrolizumab may better prevent high-risk melanoma recurrence after surgery The trial enrolled 1,137 patients and builds on phase 2 results showing about half the recurrence [...]
Scientists Discover a Powerful New Weapon Against a Dangerous Gut Infection
The promise of an experimental treatment for C. difficile gut infections lies partly in the bacteria it leaves alive, according to early laboratory and mouse research. Broad-spectrum antibiotics can disrupt the gut’s microbial community, [...]
Your Bones May Hold a Hidden Clue to Blood Cancer Survival
For people with blood cancers called myelodysplastic syndromes, osteoporosis may hold an overlooked clue to survival, a three-year observational study suggests. In blood cancers that develop in the bone marrow, an important clue to [...]
Researchers Discover What Reading for Pleasure May Be Doing to Your Brain
Reading for pleasure may offer surprising benefits for the brain, with research linking the habit to better mental health, stronger cognitive abilities, and a lower risk of dementia. Reading for pleasure may do far [...]
Scientists Discover a Hidden Trigger That Keeps Inflammation Alive
Inflammation persists after proteins detach from immune receptors, revealing a potential target for autoimmune treatments. Since a Nobel Prize-winning discovery in the 1990s identified molecules called Toll-like Receptors as the guardians of the human [...]
A Virus Gives Itself Away the Moment It Attacks
Researchers have found the trigger behind a powerful bacterial defense against viruses. Viruses that prey on bacteria could become an increasingly important tool for treating bacterial infections, particularly as antibiotic resistance makes some infections [...]
Scientists Discover Aspirin May Slash Dementia Risk by 70% – but Only for Certain People
Aspirin was linked to a sharply lower dementia risk in some older adults, and their genes may hold the clue. A Monash University analysis found that older adults with a particular genetic profile had [...]
