Been putting off some Microbiology reading till tonight and I don't know why because let me tell you I am
impressed with these little guys! Some of the reading included various adaptations of motile bacteria for sensing and responding to varying levels of environmental stimuli through a proccess called
taxis. Examples of taxis in bacteria involve
chemotaxis which is defined as the response to a chemical gradient of movement towards or away a stimulus. But there are many forms of taxis in bacteria some with peculiar attributes. For example take a look at this guy
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| Magnetospirillum magnetotacticum |
take a look at the series of black spheres running through this bacteria, those are tiny magnetic particles and make up a structure called a
Magnetosome which is to put it in simple terms a
microbial compass! These magnetic particles actually strong enough to orient the bacteria along the magnetic fields of the Earth. This magnetosome helps the bacteria perform
Magentotaxis, the movement in response to a magnetic field.
The purpose of this structure is proposed to attract the bacteria downward into sediment where the oxygen levels are lower and more to its liking for growth. Its affinity for lower oxygen concentrations have been observed in the lab
and fossil record which show what are called
Magnetofossils which appear in formations deposited during the
Proterozoic Era which saw a build up in atmospheric oxygen confirming the observation of its distaste for too much oxygen.
here are a few more pictures of our ingenious friend
