Abstract
Mössbauer spectroscopy is a nuclear γ-ray resonance technique that has been extensively applied to the study of the electronic properties of iron in biological systems. The power of the technique lies in its sensitivity to the effects of the physical environment (nature and disposition of ligands, magnetic structure, etc.) on 57Fe nuclei. Moreover, it is sensitive only to 57Fe so it is not affected by other elements in the system, except as they affect the environment of the iron atoms. The technique allows discrimination of nonequivalent iron sites as opposed to magnetic susceptibility or magnetization measurements which lump together contributions from all’ the sources in the sample. As extensive reviews of Mössbauer spectroscopy are available (Greenwood and Gibb, 1971; Bancroft, 1973; Cohen, 1976, 1981) we will only give a brief introduction here, focusing on 57Fe. This will be followed by a review of spectroscopy of iron in biomineralization products, and of magnetic inclusions in magnetotactic bacteria.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Armstrong, R. J., Morrish, A. H., and Sawatzky, G. A., 1966, Mössbauer study of ferric ions in the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of a spinel, Phys. Lett. 23: 414–416.
Balkwill, D. L., Maratea, D., and Blakemore, R. P., 1980, Ultrastructure of a magnetotactic spirillum, J. Bacteriol. 141: 1399–1408.
Bancroft, G. M., 1973, Mossbauer Spectroscopy: An Introduction for Inorganic Chemists and Geoche-mists, McGraw-Hill, New York.
Banerjee, S. K., O’Reilly, W., and Johnson, C. E., 1967, Mössbauer effect measurements in FeTi spinels with local disorder, J. Appl. Phys. 38: 1289–1291.
Bauminger, E. R., Cohen, S. G., Dickson, D. P. E., Levy, A., Ofer, S., and Yariv, J., 1980, Mössbauer spectroscopy of E. coli and its iron storage protein, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 623: 237–242.
Blaise, A., Chappert, J., and Givadet, J. L., 1965, Observation par mesures magnétiques et effet Mössbauer d’un antiferromagnétisme de grains fins dans la ferritine, C. R. Acad. Sci. 261: 2310–2313.
Blakemore, R. P., 1975, Magnetotactic bacteria, Science 190: 377–379.
Blakemore, R. P., 1982, Magnetotactic bacteria, Annu. Rev. Microbiol. 36: 217–238.
Blakemore, R. P., and Frankel, R. B., 1981, Magnetic navigation in bacteria, Sci. Am. 245(6): 58–65.
Blakemore, R. P., Maratea, D., and Wolfe, R. S., 1979, Isolation and pure culture of a freshwater magnetic spirillum in chemically defined medium, J. Bacteriol. 140: 720–729.
Blakemore, R. P., Frankel, R. B., and Kalmijn, A. J., 1981, South-seeking magnetotactic bacteria in the southern hemisphere, Nature 286: 384–385.
Chappert, J., Teillet, J., and Varret, F., 1979, Recent developments in high field Mössbauer spectroscopy, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 11: 200–207.
Coey, J. M. D., and Readman, P. W., 1973, Characterization and magnetic properties of a natural ferric gel, Earth Planet Sci. Lett 21: 45–51.
Cohen, R. L. (ed.), 1976, Applications of Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Volume I, Academic Press, New York.
Cohen, R. L. (ed.), 1981, Applications of Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Volume II, Academic Press, New York.
Dezsi, I., Keszthelyi, L., Kulgawczuk, D., Molnár, B., and Eissa, N. A., 1967, Mössbauer study of β and δ-FeOOH, Phys. Status Solidi 22: 617–629.
Forsyth, J. B., Hedley, I. G., and Johnson, C. E., 1968, The magnetic structure and hyperfine field of goethite (δ-FeOOH), J. Phys. C (Ser. 2) 2: 179–188.
Frankel, R. B., 1982, Magnetotactic bacteria, Comments Mol. Cell. Biophys. 1: 293–310.
Frankel, R. B., and Blakemore, R. P., 1980, Navigational compass in magnetic bacteria, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 15–18: 1562–1564.
Frankel, R. B., Blakemore, R. P., and Wolfe, R. S., 1979, Magnetite in freshwater magnetotactic bacteria, Science 203: 1355–1356.
Frankel, R. B., Blakemore, R. P., Torres de Araujo, F. F., Esquivel, D. M. S., and Danon, J., 1981, Magnetotactic bacteria at the geomagnetic equator, Science 212: 1269–1270.
Frankel, R. B., Papaefthymiou, G. C., Blakemore, R. P., and O’Brien, W. D., 1983, Fe3O4 precipitation in magnetotactic bacteria, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 763: 147–159.
Freeman, A. J., and Frankel, R. B., 1967, Hyperfine Interactions, Academic Press, New York.
Gould, J. L., Krischvink, J. L., and Deffeyes, K. S., 1978, Bees have magnetic remanence, Science 201: 1026–1028.
Greenwood, N. N., and Gibb, T. C., 1971, Mössbauer Spectroscopy, Chapman & Hall, London.
Hargrove, R. S., and Kundig, W., 1970, Mössbauer measurements of magnetite below the Verwey transition, Solid State Commun. 8: 303–308.
Johnson, C. E., 1969, Antiferromagnetism of γ-FeOOH: A Mössbauer effect study, J. Phys. C (Ser. 2) 2: 1996–2002.
Kaufman, K. S., Papaefthymiou, G. C., Frankel, R. B., and Rosenthal, A., 1980, Nature of iron deposits on the cardiac walls in β-thalassemia by Mössbauer spectroscopy, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 629: 522–529.
Kirschvink, J. L., 1980, South-seeking magnetic bacteria, J. Exp. Biol. 86: 345–347.
Kirschvink, J. L., and Lowenstam, H. A., 1979, Mineralization and magnetization of chiton teeth: Paleomagnetic, sedimentologic and biologic implications of organic magnetite, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 44: 193–204.
Kuterbach, D. A., Walcott, B., Reeder, R. J., and Frankel, R. B., 1982, Iron-containing cells in the honeybee (Apis mellifera), Science 218: 695–697.
Lowenstam, H. A., and Rossman, G. R., 1975, Amorphous, hydrous, ferric phosphatic dermal granules in Molpadia (Holothuroidea): Physical and chemical characterization and ecological implications of the bioinorganic fraction, Chem. Geol. 15: 15–51.
Mann, S., Frankel, R. B., and Blakemore, R. P., 1984, Structure, morphology and crystal growth of bacterial magnetite, Nature 310: 405–407.
McNabb, T. K., Fox, R. A., and Boyle, A. J. F., 1968, Some magnetic properties of magnetite (Fe3O4) microcrystals, J. Appl. Phys. 39: 5703–5711.
Moench, T. T., and Konetzka, W. A., 1978, A novel method for the isolation and study of magnetotactic bacterium, Arch. Microbiol. 119: 203–212.
Murad, E., and Schwertmann, U., 1980, The Mössbauer spectrum of ferrihydrite and its relations to those of other iron oxides, Am. Mineral. 65: 1044–1049.
Ofer, S., Nowik, I., Bauminger, E. R., Papaefthymiou, G. C., Frankel, R. B., and Blakemore, R. P., 1984, Magnetosome dynamics in magnetotactic bacteria, Biophys. J. 46: 57–64.
Ofer, S., Papaefthymiou, G. C., Frankel, R. B., and Lowenstam, H. A., 1981, Mössbauer spectroscopy of iron-containing dermal granules from Molpadia intermedia, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 676: 199–204.
Oosterhuis, W. T., and Spartalian, K., 1976, Biological iron transport and storage compounds, in: Applications of Mossbauer Spectroscopy, Volume I (R. L. Cohen, ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 141–170.
Towe, K. M., and Moench, T. T., 1981, Electron-optical characterization of bacterial magnetite, Earth Planet. Sci. Lett 52: 213–220.
van der Woude, F., 1966, Mössbauer effect in α-Fe2O3, Phys. Status Solid. 17: 417–432.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1985 Plenum Press, New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Frankel, R.B., Papaefthymiou, G.C., Blakemore, R.P. (1985). Mössbauer Spectroscopy of Iron Biomineralization Products in Magnetotactic Bacteria. In: Kirschvink, J.L., Jones, D.S., MacFadden, B.J. (eds) Magnetite Biomineralization and Magnetoreception in Organisms. Topics in Geobiology, vol 5. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0313-8_13
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-0313-8_13
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-7992-8
Online ISBN: 978-1-4613-0313-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive