BEAMM team
Biodiversity, Ecology and Adaptation
of Magnetotactic Microorganisms
Team objectives
We are conducting a diversity exploration mission to:
- Reveal new biological innovations and ecological strategies involved in the functioning and evolution of life
- To propose high value-added microbial models in the field of biotechnology
We are also interested in the underlying mechanisms to:
- Determine the genetic, molecular and physiological basis for the detection and sequestration of physiologically important or toxic chemicals,
- Elucidating the functional and evolutionary basis of highly specialised prokaryotic organelles, and
- Understanding the responses of microorganisms to environmental fluctuations and their impacts on biogeochemical cycles from the life cycle scale of the organism to the geological time scale.
Interdisciplinarity
These missions are carried out by several individual projects within a circular and integrative scientific approach at the team level, in which we address issues and systems at different scales of time and biological complexity; i.e. from the nanoscale to ecosystems, and from the molecular to communities. Our work is based on a network of interactions between global approaches exploiting the latest generation of high-throughput data and mechanistic and multidisciplinary approaches involving aquatic sampling, culture, microbial physiology, biochemistry, molecular biology and various approaches to microscopy, spectroscopy and molecular phylogeny.
BEAMM's publications since 2022
To access all publication from the team:
Caroline Monteil: Link
Philippe Ortet: Link
Christopher Lefevre: Link
2025
1) Mangin CC, Benzerara K, Bergot M, Menguy N, Alonso B, Fouteau S, Méheust R, Chevrier D, Godon C, Turrini E, Mehta N, Duverger A, Travert C, Busigny V, Duprat E, Bolzoni R, Cruaud C, Viollier E, Jézéquel D, Vallenet D, Lefèvre CT, Monteil CL (2024) Magnetotactic bacteria affiliated with multiple Pseudomonadota families biomineralize intracellular Ca-carbonate. ISME Journal. wrae260
2) Chobert SC, Roger-Margueritat M, Flandrin L, Berraies S, Lefèvre CT, Pelosi L, Junier I, Varoquaux N, Pierrel F, Abby SS (2024) Dynamic quinone repertoire accompanied the diversification of energy metabolism in Pseudomonadota. ISME Journal. wrae253
2024
1) Kovács A, Pósfai M, Zingsem B, Li ZA, Pekker P, Caron J, Prévéral S, Lefèvre CT, Bazylinski DA, Frankel RB, Dunin-Borkowski RE (2024) Influence of crystal shape and orientation on the magnetic microstructure of bullet−shaped magnetosomes synthesized by magnetotactic bacteria. Geo−Bio Interfaces. 1, e1, pp.1-11
2) Mathon FP, Amor M, Guyot F, Menguy N, Lefevre CT, Busigny V (2024) Establishing the content in trace and minor elements of magnetite as a biosignature of magnetotactic bacteria. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 386: 127-138
3) Monteil CL, Lefèvre CT (2024) Magnetosymbiosis discovery: new perspectives in magnetotaxis research. Journal of Oceanology and Limnology. 43: 177-186
2023
1) Awal RP, Müller FD, Pfeiffer D, Monteil CL, Perrière G, Lefèvre CT, Schüler (2023) Experimental analysis of diverse actin-like proteins from various magnetotactic bacteria by functional expression in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. mBio. 14:e0164923
2) D.Awal RP, Lefevre CT, Schüler D (2023) Functional expression of foreign magnetosome genes in the alphaproteobacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. mBio. 14:e0328222
3) Chevrier DM, Juhin A, Menguy N, Bolzoni R, Soto-Rodriguez PED, Kojadinovic-Sirinelli M, Paterson GA, Belkhou R, Williams W, Skouri-Panet F, Kosta A, Le Guenno H, Pereiro E, Faivre D, Benzerara K, Monteil CL, Lefevre CT (2023) Collective magnetotaxis of microbial holobionts is optimized by the three-dimensional organization and magnetic properties of ectosymbionts. PNAS. 120:e2216975120
4) Selmani Z, Attard E, Lauga B, Barakat M, Ortet P, Tulumello J, Achouak W, Kaci Y, Heulin T (2023) Culturing the desert microbiota. Front Microbiol. 14:1098150
5) Dziuba MV, Paulus A, Schramm L, Awal RP, Pósfai M, Monteil CL, Fouteau S, Uebe R, Schüler D (2023) Silent gene clusters encode magnetic organelle biosynthesis in a non-magnetotactic phototrophic bacterium. ISME J. 17:326-339
6) Leão P, Lefèvre CT (2023) Magnetic Guidance in Multicellular Prokaryotes and Eukaryotes. Elements. 19: 234-238
2022
1) Wan J, Monteil CL, Taoka A, Ernie G, Park K, Amor M, Taylor-Cornejo E, Lefevre CT, Komeili A (2022) McaA and McaB control the dynamic positioning of a bacterial magnetic organelle. Nature Com. 13:5652
2) Monteil CL, Vallenet D, Schüler D, Lefevre CT (2022) Magnetosome proteins belong to universal protein families involved in many cell processes. PNAS. 119:e2208648119
3) Park Y, Eyal Z, Pekker P, Chevrier DM, Lefèvre CT, Arnoux P, Armengaud J, Monteil CL, Gal A, Pósfai M, Faivre D (2022) Periplasmic bacterial biomineralization of copper sulfide nanoparticles. Adv. Sci. 9:e2203444
4) Bidaud CC, Monteil CL, Menguy N, Busigny V, Jézéquel D, Viollier E, Travert C, Skouri-Panet F, Benzerara K, Lefevre CT, Duprat E (2022) Biogeochemical niche of magnetotactic cocci capable to sequester large polyphosphate inclusions in the anoxic layer of the Lake Pavin water column. Front. Microbiol. 12:789134
5) Failor KC, Liu H, Llontop MEM, LeBlanc S, Eckshtain-Levi N, Sharma P, Reed A, Yang S, Tian L, Lefevre CT, Menguy N, Du L, Monteil CL, Vinatzer BA (2022) Ice nucleation in a Gram-positive bacterium isolated from precipitation depends on a polyketide synthase and non-ribosomal peptide synthetase. ISME J. 16:890-897.
6) Paliwal D, Hamilton AJ, Barrett GA, Alberti F, van Emden H, Monteil CL, Mauchline TH, Nauen R, Wagstaff C, Bass C, Jackson RW (2022) Identification of novel aphid-killing bacteria to protect plants. Microb Biotechnol. 15:1203-1220
7) Busigny V, Mathon FP, Jézéquel D, Bidaud CC, Viollier E, Bardoux G, Bourrand JJ, Benzerara K, Duprat E, Menguy N, Monteil CL, Lefevre CT (2022) Mass collection of magnetotactic bacteria from the permanently stratified ferruginous Lake Pavin, France. Environ. Microbiol. 24:721-736.
Collaborative projects
The members of the BEAMM team are leaders or partners in several funded projects
Our ongoing funded projects:
Ø 2024-2025 : Programme de recherche à risque CEA, action d’amorçage (Coordination C. Monteil). Collaboration with E. Pelletier (Genoscope, Evry) and K. Benzerara (IMPMC, Paris).
Exploration de la biodiversité et culture des microorganismes photosynthétiques pour les biocarburants de demain
Ø 2024-2025 : Appel à projet interdiscilinaire IM2B. P. Ortet in collaboration with C. Jourlin-Castelli (BIP, Marseille).
Décryptage du réseau de régulation impliquant le régulateur central du chimiotactisme et des acteurs de la synthèse et de la détection du di-GMPc par une combinaison d’approches in silico, in vitro et in vivo
Ø 2024-2026: ANR PRC MTB-CPR (Coordination C. Lefevre). Collaboration with R. Méheust (Genoscope, Evry).
Deciphering the ecology and functioning of the symbiotic relationships between nanobacteria (CPR) and magnetotactic bacteria
Ø 2022-2025: ANR PRC SymbioMagnet (Coordination C. Lefevre). Collaboration with N. Menguy (IMPMC, Paris) and D. Vallenet (Genoscope, Evry).
Deciphering the biodiversity, ecology and evolution of magnetotactic symbiosis
Ø 2022-2025: ANR PRC CarboMagnet (Coordination C. Monteil). Collaboration with K. Benzerara (IMPMC, Paris), D. Vallenet (Genoscope, Evry) and D. Jézéquel (IPGP, Paris).
Contribution of magnetotactic bacteria forming intracellular carbonate mineral phases to the sequestration of inorganic carbon and alkaline earth elements
Ø 2021-2024: ANR PRCi franco-allemande ANCESMAG (Partner C. Lefevre). Collaboration with D. Schüler (Bayreuth University) and G. Perrière (LBBE, Lyon).
Ancestral sequence reconstruction and functional expression of proteins involved in bacterial magnetosome biogenesis.
Team manager
Christopher LEFEVRE
Key words
Genomics, molecular biology, microbiology, biochemistry, microscopy, ecology, biodiversity, evolution, biomineralisation, magnetoreception, symbiotic interactions