In-situ Dynamic Imaging of Magnetosome Biomineralization in A Living Bacterium

Biomineralization typically happens within a biological environment, involving multiple dynamic processes to form structurally-ordered inorganic minerals, such as magnetosome chain formation in magnetotactic bacteria (MTB). Elucidating the structure-function relationships in these dynamic processes is of great significance for understanding the evolution in living organisms, but still urgently awaits appropriate observation tools satisfying simultaneously high spatiotemporal resolution, high detection sensitivity and biocompatibility. Here we demonstrate in-situ dynamic magnetic imaging of magnetosome biomineralization in living MTB cells using our recently developed Quantum-enabled Chemical Operando Microscopy (https://doi.org/10.26434/chemrxiv-2025-dz4rv). Our spatiotemporal observation unveils a previously unknown ‘retarded logistic type dynamics’ for magnetism development during the magnetosome chain formation in a single living cell. We further elucidate the space-time correlation of magnetosome chain formation at sub-bacterium level, illustrating the growth and assembly mechanisms. We anticipate this finding to break new ground for accessing the dynamics of biomineralization in living organisms.