Identification of promoters for efficient gene expression in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.

To develop an expression system for the magnetotactic bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense, we compared gene expression from the widely used Escherichia coli P(lac) promoter with that from known and predicted genuine M. gryphiswaldense promoters. With the use of green fluorescent protein as a reporter, the highest expression level was observed with the magnetosomal P(mamDC) promoter. We demonstrate that this promoter can be used for the expression of modified magnetosome proteins to generate "antibody-binding" magnetosomes.