Novel species and expanded distribution of ellipsoidal multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes.

Multicellular magnetotactic prokaryotes (MMPs) are a peculiar group of magnetotactic bacteria, each comprising approximately 10-100 cells of the same phylotype. Two morphotypes of MMP have been identified, including several species of globally distributed spherical mulberry-like MMPs (s-MMPs), and two species of ellipsoidal pineapple-like MMPs (e-MMPs) from China (Qingdao and Rongcheng cities). We recently collected e-MMPs from Mediterranean Sea sediments (Six-Fours-les-Plages) and Drummond Island, in the South China Sea. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the MMPs from Six-Fours-les-Plages and the previously reported e-MMP Candidatus Magnetananas rongchenensis have 98.5% sequence identity and are the same species, while the MMPs from Drummond Island appear to be a novel species, having > 7.1% sequence divergence from the most closely related e-MMP, Candidatus Magnetananas tsingtaoensis. Identification of the novel species expands the distribution of e-MMPs to Tropical Zone. Comparison of nine physical and chemical parameters revealed that sand grain size and the content of inorganic nitrogen (nitrate, ammonium and nitrite) in the sediments from Rongcheng City and Six-Fours-les-Plages were similar, and lower than found for sediments from the other two sampling sites. The results of the study reveal broad diversity and wide distribution of e-MMPs.

Bats respond to very weak magnetic fields.

How animals, including mammals, can respond to and utilize the direction and intensity of the Earth's magnetic field for orientation and navigation is contentious. In this study, we experimentally tested whether the Chinese Noctule, Nyctalus plancyi (Vespertilionidae) can sense magnetic field strengths that were even lower than those of the present-day geomagnetic field. Such field strengths occurred during geomagnetic excursions or polarity reversals and thus may have played an important role in the evolution of a magnetic sense. We found that in a present-day local geomagnetic field, the bats showed a clear preference for positioning themselves at the magnetic north. As the field intensity decreased to only 1/5th of the natural intensity (i.e., 10 µT; the lowest field strength tested here), the bats still responded by positioning themselves at the magnetic north. When the field polarity was artificially reversed, the bats still preferred the new magnetic north, even at the lowest field strength tested (10 µT), despite the fact that the artificial field orientation was opposite to the natural geomagnetic field (P<0.05). Hence, N. plancyi is able to detect the direction of a magnetic field even at 1/5th of the present-day field strength. This high sensitivity to magnetic fields may explain how magnetic orientation could have evolved in bats even as the Earth's magnetic field strength varied and the polarity reversed tens of times over the past fifty million years.

[Geographical distribution of magnetotactic bacteria].

Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are widely distributed in aquatic environments. To assess the correlation between their evolutionary relatedness and geographic distribution, we analyzed 239 16S rDNA sequences available in the Genbank, and constructed phylogenetic trees based on the sequences. After elimination of redundant sequences by grouping those with identity > 97% into a single one, we analyzed in detail total 139 16S rDNA sequences, including 55 from marine MTB and 82 from freshwater sequences, and belonging to Proteobacteria and Nitrospirae. Phylogeny analysis based on those sequences suggests that the geographical distribution of MTB has certain regional distribution character: marine MTB is distinct from freshwater MTB, and off coast MTB are remotely related with ocean MTB. In contrast, the MTB from similar habitats, such as offshore in Brazil and the United States or freshwater lakes in Germany and China, are closely related. It is found that similar species have a large geographic distribution and tend to adopt the similar habitats, morphotypes of MTB and their living environment conditions have a significant relevance. This observation suggests that MTB may have multiple evolutionary origins. And also, it suggests the environmental conditions, as an important evolutionary pressure, play an important role in the long-term evolution of MTB.