Bacteria use a compass to navigate

W hat does Christopher Columbus have in common with tiny microorganisms?

Light Temperature Food And alarm substances or other chemical compounds Scientists have known for a long time that bacteria can orient themselves using:

 Richard P. Blakemore in 1975, discovered the existence of magnetotactic bacteria in a mud sample.  These bacteria have organelles called magnetosomes that contain magnetic crystals.organelles magnetosomes

 Freshwater and marine habitats.  Anaerobes -too much oxygen can kill them.  Mud-water interface.  One micrometer (a thousandth of a millimeter) in size.  Spiral, rod or comma shaped life forms; some even resemble tiny footballs. LIFE FORMS SHAPED LIKE TINY FOOTBALLS

What is the structure of these extremely unusual nano crystals? Figure 1: Diagram of a magnetotactic bacterium

Figure 2 : The electron microscopial images show structures in the shape of droplets (a), projectiles (b) and cubes (c, d). The magnetic particles are arranged in either one (a, b) or several (c, d) chains. The magnetosomes present in various types of bacteria often have different shapes:

Figure 3: Diagram showing how magnetotactic bacteria use magnetotaxis to swim to the OATZ in the Northern versus the Southern Hemisphere on Earth

Figure 4: The microorganisms that are initially distributed uniformly and randomly, swim in a controlled manner to the northerly edge of the sample when a magnetic field is applied. 30 s120 s

 Biotechnological application for medical diagnostics Magnetosome particles could be used in the detection of tumours (magnetic resonance tomography).  Help us to understand the origin of life on Earth and elsewhere in the universe.

 We still have not managed to grow bacteria in the laboratory in the required quantities.  The production of magnetite is particularly sensitive to subtle changes in the cultivation process.  And the greater the quantity, the more complex the procedure.

"Now, my own suspicion is"Now, my own suspicion is that the universe is not only queerer than we suppose, but queerer than we can suppose. I suspect that there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamed of, or can be dreamed of, in any philosophy.” J.B.S. Haldanethat the universe is not only queerer than we suppose,but queerer than we can suppose.I suspect that there are more things in heaven and earththan are dreamed of, or can be dreamed of, in any philosophy

References: 1. Faivre, D. & Schüler D. Magnetotactic bacteria and magnetosomes. Chemistry Reviews 108, 4875–4898 (2008). 2. Gorby, Y. A., Beveridge T. J., & Blakemore R. P. Characterization of the bacterial magnetosome membrane. Journal of Bacteriology 170, 834–841 (1988). 3. Thomas-Keprta K. L. et al. Magnetofossils from ancient mars: a robust biosignature in the martian meteorite ALH Applied and Environmental Microbiology 68, 3663–3672 (2002).