Electron-optical characterization of bacterial magnetite

Magnetic grains isolated from magnetococcoid bacterial cells were studied by means of transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction and electron microprobe analysis. Observed in situ the magnetic grains are each surrounded by an organic membrane and are usually found in a random array although “chains” are also seen. Electron diffraction confirms the magnetite mineralogy and provides additional evidence in favor of vacancies in the structure. Electron microprobe analysis shows the magnetite to be slightly titaniferous. Electron microscopy indicates that the grains, rather than being flake shaped, are parallelepiped crystals with a mean length of99.3 ± 8.7nm, a mean width of62.3 ± 6.1nm yielding a width-to-length ratio of 0.63. These data support the contention that the magnetic bacterial grains are single-domain crystals capable of producing a natural remanent magnetization in sediments.