Microorganisms play a key role in the functioning and evolution of biogeochemical cycles because they were the sole inhabitants of our planet for almost 3 billion years, and because of their tremendous metabolic capacities and outstanding environmental adaptions (Falkowski et al., 2008). Unlike plants and animals, which generally serve as producers and consumers, respectively, microorganisms can act as producers,

Summary Magnetotactic bacteria (MTB) are phylogenetically diverse prokaryotes that can produce intracellular chain‐assembled nanocrystals of magnetite (Fe3O4) or greigite (Fe3S4). Compared with their wide distribution in the Alpha‐, Eta‐ and Delta‐proteobacteria classes, few MTB strains have been identified in the Gammaproteobacteria class, resulting in limited knowledge of bacterial diversity and magnetosome biomineralization within this phylogenetic branch. Here, we identify two magnetotactic Gammaproteobacteria strains (tentatively named FZSR‐1 and FZSR‐2 respectively) from a salt evaporation pool in Bohai Bay, at the Fuzhou saltern, Dalian City, eastern China. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that strain FZSR‐2 is the same species as strains SHHR‐1 and SS‐5, which were discovered previously from brackish and hypersaline environments respectively. Strain FZSR‐1 represents a novel species. Compared with strains FZSR‐2, SHHR‐1 and SS‐5 in which magnetite particles are assembled into a single chain, FZSR‐1 cells form relatively narrower magnetite nanoparticles that are often organized into double chains. We find a good relationship between magnetite morphology within strains FZSR‐2, SHHR‐1 and SS‐5 and the salinity of the environment in which they live. This study expands the bacterial diversity of magnetotactic Gammaproteobacteria and provides new insights into magnetosome biomineralization within magnetotactic Gammaproteobacteria.