microorganisms Article Phylogenomic Insights into Distribution and Adaptation of Bdellovibrionota in Marine Waters Qing-Mei Li 1,2, Ying-Li Zhou 1,2, Zhan-Fei Wei 1,2 and Yong Wang 1,* 1 Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya 572000, China;
[email protected] (Q.-M.L.);
[email protected] (Y.-L.Z.);
[email protected] (Z.-F.W.) 2 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China * Correspondence:
[email protected] Abstract: Bdellovibrionota is composed of obligate predators that can consume some Gram-negative bacteria inhabiting various environments. However, whether genomic traits influence their distribu- tion and marine adaptation remains to be answered. In this study, we performed phylogenomics and comparative genomics studies using 132 Bdellovibrionota genomes along with five metagenome- assembled genomes (MAGs) from deep sea zones. Four phylogenetic groups, Oligoflexia, Bdello- group1, Bdello-group2 and Bacteriovoracia, were revealed by constructing a phylogenetic tree, of which 53.84% of Bdello-group2 and 48.94% of Bacteriovoracia were derived from the ocean. Bacteri- ovoracia was more prevalent in deep sea zones, whereas Bdello-group2 was largely distributed in the epipelagic zone. Metabolic reconstruction indicated that genes involved in chemotaxis, flagellar (mobility), type II secretion system, ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters and penicillin-binding protein were necessary for the predatory lifestyle of Bdellovibrionota. Genes involved in glycerol metabolism, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) degradation, cell wall recycling and peptide utilization were ubiquitously present in Bdellovibrionota genomes. Comparative genomics between marine and Citation: Li, Q.-M.; Zhou, Y.-L.; Wei, non-marine Bdellovibrionota demonstrated that betaine as an osmoprotectant is probably widely Z.-F.; Wang, Y.