Biomineralization of magnetic iron minerals in bacteria

Magnetotactic bacteria orient and migrate along magnetic field lines. This ability is based on a submicron assembly of single-magnetic domain iron min eral particles that elegantly solves the problem of how to construct a magn etic dipole that is large enough to be oriented in the geomagnetic field at ambient temperature, yet fit inside a micron-sized cell. The solution is b ased on the ability of the bacteria to accumulate high concentrations of ir on, and control the deposition, size and orientation of a specific iron min eral at specific locations in the eel. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Limited. A ll rights reserved.