The remarkable ability of migratory animals to navigate and recall routes may be attributed to a sensitivity to not just Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 magnetic fields, but perhaps an interaction with magnetic bacteria living inside them.
The relationship between these magnetic bacteria and the animals they reside in is not yet fully understood, but Assistant Professor Robert Fitak recently compiled a database of animal DNA that houses hundreds of millions of sequences showing the presence of various types of magnetic bacteria to use as a tool in his pursuit to learn more.
The database signals a step forward in his research and builds off previous hypotheses and analyses published in 2020 in collaboration with colleagues in the United Kingdom and Israel.
In 2021, Fitak continued poring through databases to categorize which animals may host magnetic bacteria and if there are prevalent patterns.
麻豆精品 S淭he first study we did was look at existing datasets and summarize where we found this bacteria in different animals, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e searched about 50,000 previous scientific studies. Now, we actually expanded that to studying a worldwide database of genetic information and we 麻豆精品 S檝e been able to summarize where these bacteria are located based on trillions of genetic sequences. 麻豆精品 S�
The database was published earlier this year in Data in Brief, and it borrows information from the publicly available Sequence Read Archive from the National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Fitak focused on organizing DNA sequences originating from across animal species that match known magnetic bacteria to assist he and other researchers to narrow their efforts in examination of both environmental and ecological roles of magnetic bacteria or to identify potential host animals.
An Internal Compass?
Fitak and his colleagues are using the refined data to identify potential host organisms for the magnetic bacteria and to provide greater context for examining the roles they may play in animals 麻豆精品 S� such as for navigation.
麻豆精品 S淯ltimately, if we have a better understanding of how animals navigate, it 麻豆精品 S檒l be useful for conserving endangered or protected species, 麻豆精品 S� Fitak says. 麻豆精品 S淚f we know where they 麻豆精品 S檙e going to move and how, it can help us make more accurate management decisions. 麻豆精品 S�
He is interested in seeing if the magnetic bacteria reside in regions within an animal so they may sense them, such as parts of the nervous system. Fitak thinks they could serve as a navigational aid for animals or provide an additional boost for creatures like birds or sea turtles already using the Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 magnetic field to navigate long distances.
麻豆精品 S淚t 麻豆精品 S檚 almost like a microbial compass and we 麻豆精品 S檙e studying how that could work, 麻豆精品 S� Fitak says. 麻豆精品 S淲e think the animals already use the Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 magnetic field like a compass. 麻豆精品 S�
He also says another potential benefit is that scientists may study how animals sense the magnetic fields and potentially mimic how they 麻豆精品 S檙e used in a variety of applications such as drug delivery.
However, there is no conclusive evidence that these animals are using the magnetic bacteria to navigate or not, Fitak says.
麻豆精品 S淭he big summary we have so far from our research is that we don 麻豆精品 S檛 yet know that these bacteria are sensing the bacteria for the animal, but we do have evidence that they are living in these animals, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淏ut what we 麻豆精品 S檝e learned is we can use genetic tags that are signatures for bacteria that makes magnets, and we 麻豆精品 S檝e identified these genetic signatures of these bacteria inside various animals 麻豆精品 S� including humans. 麻豆精品 S�
These kinds of bacteria often live in sediments or muds where there isn 麻豆精品 S檛 a lot of oxygen, Fitak says. They assemble microscopic and magnetized iron 麻豆精品 S渃hains 麻豆精品 S� to assist in their movement, he says.
It is uncertain how organisms end up with these bacteria inside of them, but it is theorized perhaps through absorption or consumption, Fitak says.
麻豆精品 S淭o date, our results across projects show that these magnetic bacteria seem to be a regular component of many species microbiomes, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淗opefully our future work will show whether they are just incidentally gathered from the environment, a functional component of magnetic sensing for a host animal, or for some other unknown reason. 麻豆精品 S�
Focusing on Sea Turtles
Fitak and his team of student researchers are focused on examining samples from green and loggerhead sea turtles to further study magnetic bacteria.
麻豆精品 S淪ea turtles are kind of a model of animal navigation, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淲e 麻豆精品 S檝e been testing our hypotheses in sea turtles since they travel to very specific places very accurately. 麻豆精品 S�
Focusing on sea turtles was a natural next step since they are known to possess magnetic bacteria and they rely on the Earth 麻豆精品 S檚 magnetic field to migrate, Fitak says. has also been instrumental in obtaining samples of turtles, he says.
Julianna Martin, a Ph.D. student working with Fitak, has helped analyze and collect the nearly 150 sea turtle samples.
麻豆精品 S淚 work in the lab to extract the DNA from the samples and use genomics to identify what bacteria are in the samples and which are the magnet making ones we 麻豆精品 S檙e looking for, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚 couldn 麻豆精品 S檛 collect the samples without the help of the UCF Marine Turtle Research Group. It 麻豆精品 S檚 been a team effort. 麻豆精品 S�
Martin and scientists with UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Marine Turtle Research Group gently collect tear samples with soft swabs from nesting females 麻豆精品 S� who enter an almost trance-like state when laying eggs 麻豆精品 S� and juveniles in the Indian River lagoon.
The turtles produce large goopy tears when they are on land to keep their eyes moist, and collecting them takes around 30 seconds, Martin says.
麻豆精品 S淲e started with the tear ducts because they’re associated with nerves that are associated potentially with animals 麻豆精品 S� magnetic sense, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淚t makes sense biologically to look there and it 麻豆精品 S檚 easy to collect sea turtle tears. 麻豆精品 S�
Martin says she is pleased with their progress thus far but is hoping their momentum propels their research toward more definitive conclusions.
麻豆精品 S淭his research has been really exciting, 麻豆精品 S� she says. 麻豆精品 S淣o one had been looking for them specifically in sea turtles. I 麻豆精品 S檓 interested in knowing where they came from and what species of magnet-making bacteria each sea turtle species has. It 麻豆精品 S檚 a long way away but for now we 麻豆精品 S檙e working on describing, 麻豆精品 S榓re they there? 麻豆精品 S� and 麻豆精品 S榳here do they come from? 麻豆精品 S� 麻豆精品 S�
The potential to share the unique discovery of magnetic bacteria aiding animals in navigation is truly wondrous, Fitak says.
麻豆精品 S淲hat 麻豆精品 S檚 been exciting is just being able to tell people that there are bacteria that exist in this world that make magnets, 麻豆精品 S� he says. 麻豆精品 S淧eople are awestruck, and it would be incredible if animals were indeed using these magnetic bacteria to navigate. 麻豆精品 S�
Fitak encourages researchers interested in studying magnetic bacteria to .
All sea turtle samples were collected under UCF MTRG protected species permits (MTP-231, MTP-171, and NMFS 26268)
Researcher 麻豆精品 S檚 Credentials
Fitak is an assistant professor in UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Department of Biology in the College of Sciences. He received his doctorate in genetics from the University of Arizona and his bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 in molecular genetics from The Ohio State University. Before joining UCF in 2019, he worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Population Genetics in Vienna, Austria, and at Duke University. He is a member of UCF 麻豆精品 S檚 Genomics and Bioinformatics research cluster.
Martin is a UCF biology Ph.D. student who aspires to continue her genetic research at the university. She earned her bachelor 麻豆精品 S檚 degree at St. Mary 麻豆精品 S檚 College of Maryland and worked at the American Genome Center at the Uniformed Services University.
