Rock Magnetic Criteria for the Detection of Biogenic Magnetite

We report results on the magnetic properties of magnetites produced by magnetotactic and dissimilatory iron-reducing bacteria. Magnetotactic bacterial (MTB) strains MS1, MV1 and MV2 and dissimilatory iron-reducing bacterium strain GS-15, grown in pure cultures, were used in this study. Our results suggest that a combination of room temperature coercivity analysis and low temperature remanence measurements provides a characteristic magnetic signature for intact chains of single domain (SD) particles of magnetite from MTBs. The most useful magnetic property measurements include: (1) acquisition and demagnetization of isothermal remanent magnetization (IRM) using static, pulse and alternating fields; (2) acquisition of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM); and (3) thermal dependence of low temperature (20 K) saturation IRM after cooling in zero field (ZFC) or in a 2.5 T field (FC) from 300 K. However, potentially the most diagnostic magnetic parameter for magnetosome chain identification in bulk sediment samples is related to the difference between low temperature zero-field and field cooled SIRMs on warming through the Verwey transition (T ≈ 100 K). Intact chains of unoxidized magnetite magnetosomes have ratios of δFC/δZFC greater than 2, where the parameter δ is a measure of the amount of remanence lost by warming through the Verwey transition. Disruption of the chain structure or conversion of the magnetosomes to maghemite reduces the δFC/δZFC ratio to around 1, similar to values observed for some inorganic magnetite, maghemite, greigite and GS-15 particles. Numerical simulations of δFC/δZFC ratios for simple binary mixtures of magnetosome chains and inorganic magnetic fractions suggest that the δFC/δZFC parameter can be a sensitive indicator of biogenic magnetite in the form of intact chains of magnetite magnetosomes and can be a useful magnetic technique for identifying them in whole-sediment samples. The strength of our approach lies in the comparative ease and rapidity with which magnetic measurements can be made, compared to techniques such as electron microscopy

Microbes, Magnetism, and Microscopy

An accurate quantification of magnetic force microscope images has been accomplished. The magnetosomes produced by magnetotactic bacteria, an ideal micromagnetic model system, were the specimens used for the quantification (a moment on the order of 10−13 emu)

Magnetic properties of marine magnetotactic bacteria in a seasonally stratified coastal pond (Salt Pond, MA, USA)

Magnetic properties of suspended material in the water columns of freshwater and marine environments provide snapshots of magnetic biomineralization that have yet to be affected by the eventual time-integration and early diagenetic effects that occur after sediment deposition. Here, we report on the magnetism, geochemistry and geobiology of uncultured magnetite- and greigite-producing magnetotactic bacteria (MB) and magnetically responsive protists (MRP) in Salt Pond (Falmouth, MA, USA), a small coastal, marine basin (∼5 m deep) that becomes chemically stratified during the summer months. At this time, strong inverse O2 and H2S concentration gradients form in the water column and a well-defined oxic–anoxic interface (OAI) is established at a water depth of about 3.5 m. At least four morphological types of MB, both magnetite and greigite producers, and several species of magnetically responsive protists are found associated with the OAI and the lower sulphidic hypolimnion. Magnetic properties of filtered water were determined through the water column across the OAI and were consistent with the occurrence of magnetite- and greigite-producing MB at different depths. Sharp peaks in anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) and saturation isothermal remanent magnetization (SIRM) and single-domain (SD) values of ARM/SIRM occur within the OAI corresponding to high concentrations of MB and MRP with magnetically derived cell densities of 104–106 ml−1. Low-temperature (K) remanence indicated that while only magnetite producers inhabit the OAI, both magnetite and greigite producers inhabit the sulphidic hypolimnion below the OAI. Magnetic measurements also show that the amount of Fe sequestered in magnetite magnetosomes within the OAI is no more than 3.3 per cent of the total available dissolved Fe(II) in the water column. However, below the OAI, magnetic minerals constitute a much larger fraction of the total dissolved Fe(II) ranging from 13.6 to 32.2 per cent depending on magnetic mineralogy. Most of this iron is possibly in the form of nanophase magnetic particles, possibly associated with biologically induced mineralization processes occurring below the OAI. Still, the OAI is a narrow but intense zone of SD particle production. Despite using just a small fraction of available dissolved Fe(II) in the water column for magnetosome production, the total number of MB living within an OAI, such as at Salt Pond, is all that is needed to produce the biogenic SD concentrations observed in some sediments. We also observed that Verwey transition temperatures fell within a narrow range of values between 95 and 105 K that were independent of both water depth and geochemical conditions. Reduced Verwey transition temperatures (Tv \u3c 120 K) appear to be an intrinsic property of magnetite magnetosomes whether grown in pure laboratory cultures or from a diverse population of magnetite-producing MB in the environment. This indicates that a limited amount of oxygen non-stoichiometry

Remanence Measurements on Individual Magnetotactic Bacteria Using a Pulsed Magnetic Field

We describe pulsed-magnetic-field remanence measurements of individual, killed, undisrupted cells of three different types of magnetotactic bacteria. The measurement technique involved the observation of aligned, individual magnetotactic bacteria with a light microscope as they were subjected to magnetic pulses of increasing amplitude. We show that for MM cells, the hysteresis loop is square, with the coercive field variable from cell to cell. This is consistent with just two magnetization states for the single chain of magnetite particles. For MR and MMP cells, the hysteresis loops are not square, indicating that there are several different magnetization states, and that individual cells can be demagnetized. The coercive fields in the MR and MMP cells are less variable than for the MM cells

Magnetic Force Microscopy of the Submicron Magnetic Assembly in a Magnetotactic Bacterium

A magnetic force microscope (MFM) was used to image topography and magnetic forces from a chain of submicron single magnetic domain particles produced by and contained in isolated magnetotactic bacteria. The noncontact magnetic force microscope data were used to determine a value for the magnetic moment of an individual bacterial cell, of order 10−13 emu, consistent with the average magnetic moment of bacteria from the same sample, obtained by superconducting quantum interference device magnetometry. The results represent the most sensitive quantification of a magnetic force microscope image to date

Properties of Intracellular Magnetite Crystals Produced by \u3ci\u3eDesulfovibrio magneticus\u3c/i\u3e Strain RS-1

Desulfovibrio magneticus strain RS-1 is an anaerobic sulfate-reducing bacterium. Cells form intracellular nanocrystals of magnetite but are only weakly magnetotactic. In order to understand the unusual magnetic response of this strain, we studied magnetite crystals within cells grown with fumarate and sulfate. Many cells grown under either condition did not form magnetic crystals while others contained only 1 to 18 small (~40 nm) magnetite-containing magnetosomes. Bulk magnetic measurements of whole cells showed a superparamagnetic-like behavior, indicating that many of the magnetite crystals are too small to have a permanent magnetic moment at ambient temperature. The temperature of the Verwey transition is lower (~86 K) than of magnetite from other magnetotactic strains, likely indicating partial oxidation of magnetite into maghemite. As a result of the small size and small number of magnetite magnetosomes, the magnetic moments of most cells grown anaerobically with fumarate or sulfate are insufficient for magnetotaxis. In addition to intracellular magnetite, in some cultures another iron oxide, hematite, formed on the surfaces of cells. The hematite grains are embedded in an extracellular polymeric material, indicating that the crystals likely resulted from a biologically-induced mineralization process. Although the hematite particles appear to consist of aggregations of many small (5 to 10 nm) grains, the grains have a consensus orientation and thus the whole particle diffracts as a single crystal. The aligned arrangement of nanoparticles within larger clusters may reflect either a templated nucleation of hematite crystallites in an extracellular organic matrix, or result from a self-assembling process during the crystallization of hematite from ferric gels or ferrihydrite

A Comparison of Magnetite Particles Produced Anaerobically by Magnetotactic and Dissimilatory Iron‐Reducing Bacteria

We compare the magnetic properties of fine‐grained magnetite produced by two newly isolated anaerobic bacteria, a magnetotactic bacterium (MV‐1) and a dissimilatory iron‐reducing bacterium (GS‐15). Although room‐temperature magnetic properties are generally different between the two microorganisms, MV‐1 and GS‐15 magnetites can be most easily distinguished by the temperature variation of saturation remanence obtained at liquid helium temperatures. Magnetite produced by MV‐1 displays a sharp discontinuity in intensity at 100 K related to the Verwey transition. Magnetite produced by GS‐15 displays a gradual decrease in intensity with temperature due to the progressive unblocking of magnetization. The differing behavior is due exclusively to different grain size distributions produced by these microorganisms. MV‐1 produces magnetite with a narrow grain size distribution that is within the stable single domain size range at room temperature and below. GS‐15 produces magnetite with a wide grain size distribution extending into the superparamagnetic (SPM) size range. Our results show that a substantial fraction of particles produced by GS‐15 are SPM at room temperature