Prismatic magnetite magnetosomes from cultivated Magnetovibrio blakemorei strain MV-1: a magnetic fingerprint in marine sediments?

The magnetic properties (first-order reversal curves, ferromagnetic resonance and decomposition of saturation remanent magnetization acquisition) of Magnetovibrio
blakemorei, a cultivated marine magnetotactic
bacterium, differ from those of other magnetotactic species from sediments deposited in lakes and marine habitats previously studied. This finding suggests that magnetite produced by some magnetotactic bacteria retains magnetic properties in relation to the crystallographic structure of the magnetic phase produced and thus might represent a ‘magnetic fingerprint’ for a specific magnetotactic bacterium. The use of this fingerprint is a non-destructive, new technology that might allow for the identification and presence of specific
species or types of magnetotactic bacteria in
certain environments such as sediments.

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