Magnetospirillum magneticum is a gram-negative, helical, and microaerophilic spirillum. It was first isolated from pond water by the microbiologist R.P. Blakemore in 1975. Their typical habitat consists of shallow fresh water and sediments with low concentration of oxygen for growth.
What made them so bizarre is the way they move in the environment. M. magneticum is a member of magnetotatic bacteria (MTB) class, whose mobility is dependent upon the magnetic characteristics of the environment. They are capable to orient themselves according to Earth's magnetic poles, also called as magnetotaxis. This movement happens when the bacteria ingest iron, proteins inside their cells interact with it to produce tiny crystals of the mineral magnetite, the most magnetic mineral on Earth.
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