Magnetite from magnetotactic bacteria; size distributions and twinning

Abstract

Other| December 01, 1998 Magnetite from magnetotactic bacteria; size distributions and twinning Bertrand Devouard; Bertrand Devouard Arizona State University, Departments of Geology and Chemistry/Biochemistry, Tempe, AZ, United States Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mihaly Posfai; Mihaly Posfai Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Xin Hua; Xin Hua Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Dennis A. Bazylinski; Dennis A. Bazylinski Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard B. Frankel; Richard B. Frankel Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Peter R. Buseck Peter R. Buseck Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Bertrand Devouard Arizona State University, Departments of Geology and Chemistry/Biochemistry, Tempe, AZ, United States Mihaly Posfai Xin Hua Dennis A. Bazylinski Richard B. Frankel Peter R. Buseck Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1945-3027 Print ISSN: 0003-004X GeoRef, Copyright 2004, American Geological Institute. American Mineralogist (1998) 83 (11-12_Part_2): 1387–1398. https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1998-11-1228 Article history First Online: 02 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Bertrand Devouard, Mihaly Posfai, Xin Hua, Dennis A. Bazylinski, Richard B. Frankel, Peter R. Buseck; Magnetite from magnetotactic bacteria; size distributions and twinning. American Mineralogist 1998;; 83 (11-12_Part_2): 1387–1398. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/am-1998-11-1228 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyAmerican Mineralogist Search Advanced Search Abstract We studied intracellular magnetite particles produced by several morphological types of magnetotactic bacteria including the spirillar (helical) freshwater species, Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum, and four incompletely characterized marine strains: MV-1, a curved rod-shaped bacterium; MC-1 and MC-2, two coccoid (spherical) microorganisms; and MV-4, a spirillum. Particle morphologies, size distributions, and structural features were examined using conventional and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The various strains produce crystals with characteristic shapes. All habits can be derived from various combinations of the isometric {111}, {110}, and {100} forms. We compared the size and shape distributions of crystals from magnetotactic bacteria with those of synthetic magnetite grains of similar size and found the biogenic and synthetic distributions to be statistically distinguishable. In particular, the size distributions of the bacterial magnetite crystals are narrower and have a distribution asymmetry that is the opposite of the nonbiogenic sample. The only deviation from ideal structure in the bacterial magnetite seems to be the occurrence of spinel-law twins. Sparse multiple twins were also observed. Because the synthetic magnetite crystals contain twins similar to those in bacteria, in the absence of characteristic chains of crystals, only the size and shape distributions seem to be useful for distinguishing bacterial from nonbiogenic magnetite. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.