Characterization of Cultured Rod-shaped MagnetotacticBetaproteobacteriafrom Skudai River, Malaysia

Objectives: Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) represent a widespread group of phylogenetically, physiologically and morphologically aquatic prokaryotes with a distinct ability to migrate along the earth’s geomagnetic field using intracellular magnetic organelles called magnetosomes (MSs). Methods: In this study, a new MTB, AlcaligenesspSUM 123 was successfully isolated from Skudai river in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. The bacterium was cultivated in enrichment growth media (GM) at room temperature 25 ºC after isolation using a neodymium magnet. Findings: Phylogenetic analysis using 16S rRNAgenoe sequence revealed that the new strain SUM 123 of Alcaligenesspbelongs to Betaproteobacteria class. The strain SUM 123 contained three or more round shaped, random distributed magnetosomes (MSs) of 80-120 nm in size observed under Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope (STEM). The minerals in MTB were studied by X-ray Energy Diffraction (EDX) analysis. Furthermore, the peaks that are attributed to the 220, 311, and 210 of MS were confirmed using X-ray Diffraction (XRD). Application/Improvement: The band around 580 cm-1 was related to Fe-O functional group of magnetite confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectroscopy.