A bacterial cytolinker couples positioning of magnetic organelles to cell shape control
Daniel Pfeiffer, Mauricio Toro‐Nahuelpan, Ram Prasad Awal, Frank D. Müller, Marc Bramkamp, Jürgen M. Plitzko, Dirk Schüler
Abstract
results in decreased cell curvature, impaired cell division, and predominant formation of shorter, doubled chains of magnetosomes. Pleiotropic effects of CcfM on magnetosome chain organization and cell morphology are supported by the finding that CcfM interacts with the magnetoskeleton-related MamY and the actin-like MamK via distinct motifs, and with the cell shape-related cytoskeleton via MreB. We further demonstrate that CcfM promotes motility and magnetic alignment in structured environments, and thus likely confers a selective advantage in natural habitats of magnetotactic bacteria, such as aquatic sediments. Overall, we unravel the function of a prokaryotic cytoskeletal constituent that is widespread in magnetic and nonmagnetic spirilla-shaped Alphaproteobacteria.