Crystal morphology of MV-1 magnetite

Intracellular magnetite ([Fe.sub.3][O.sub.4]) crystals produced by magnetotactic bacteria strain MV-1 are in the single-domain size range, and are chemically pure. We have previously suggested that they exhibit an unusual crystal habit described as truncated hexa-octahedral. Such a crystal morphology has not been demonstrated for any inorganic population of magnetite, nor would it be expected, given considerations of symmetry and free energy. By inference, this morphology is a physical signature of a biological origin. Here we report data from transmission electron microscope (TEM) tomography of such crystals isolated from magnetotactic bacteria, which confirm the unusual geometry, originally proposed from classical TEM tilt imaging.