Abstract

Magnetotactic bacteria contain magnetosomes, which are mineral particles enclosed my membranes. The particles are ferrimagnetic magnetite, ferrimagnetic greigite, or greigite and non-magnetic pyrite. The particles constitute an elegant biomagnetic compass that orients the cell along the geomagnetic field lines as it swims. This paper discusses the structures of these particles and their possible formation mechanisms.

Disciplines

Physics

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This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Design and Processing of Materials by Biomemetics and may be found at http://www.aip.org.

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URL: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/phy_fac/293