Open Fang SHEN Master Submit

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Open Fang SHEN Master Submit The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology PURIFICATION AND KINETIC CHARACTERIZATION OF PROTOCHLOROPHYLLIDE a DIVINYL REDUCTASE IN GREEN SULFUR BACTERIUM CHLOROBIUM TEPIDUM A Thesis in Plant Physiology by Fang Shen © 2008 Fang Shen Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science August 2008 The thesis of Fang Shen was reviewed and approved* by the following: Donald A. Bryant Ernest C. Pollard Professor of Biotechnology Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Thesis Advisor Ming Tien Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Teh-hui Kao Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Head of the Intercollege Graduate Program in Plant Biology *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT (Bacterio)cholorophylls are magnesium tetrapyrroles involved in the light harvesting and photochemistry. In this thesis study, the bciA gene, encoding protochlorophyllide a divinyl reductase from Chlorobium tepidum, was overexpressed in Escherichia coli and purified by metal affinity chromatography. As estimated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS-PAGE) analysis, purified BciA was greater than 95% pure. Peptide mass fingerprinting of the overproduced BciA excised from a SDS-PAGE gel slice matched the CT1063 protein with a high score (202) and high coverage (70%). Non- denaturing PAGE showed that BciA mostly exist as monomers and that about 10% of the protein exists as dimers. Divinyl reductase assays using purified BciA confirmed that BciA was able to convert divinyl protochlorophyllide (DV-PChlide) into monovinyl protochlorophyllide (MV-PChlide) with NADPH serving as the reductant. NADH was not able to substitute for NADPH. Initial velocity studies suggest that BciA reacts via a ternary complex mechanism. Product inhibition studies indicated the binding sequence of the reactants. + NADPH binds first and NADP is released last. The Km value for the NADPH was calculated to be 20.1 ± 7.8 µM. The Km value for the DV-PChlide was estimated to be 1.7 ± 0.5 µM. These Km values are comparable to those of other enzymes involved in the (B)Chl biosynthesis pathways. The low Km values for tetrapyrroles are consistent with the fact that the tetrapyrroles are very toxic to the cells, and therefore the cellular concentrations of these compounds are most likely to be very low. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES .....................................................................................................vii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................ix LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................x ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.........................................................................................xii Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Green sulfur Bacteria ..........................................................................................1 1.1.1 Ecology .....................................................................................................1 1.1.2 Phylogeny .................................................................................................2 1.1.3 Physiology ................................................................................................3 1.1.4 Photosynthetic apparatus of green sulfur bacteria ....................................4 1.1.5 Chlorosome...............................................................................................4 1.1.6 Reaction center..........................................................................................7 1.1.7 Energy transfer pathway ...........................................................................9 1.1.8 Chlorobium tepidum .................................................................................10 1.2 Pigment content and biosynthesis........................................................................11 1.2.1 Carotenoids in GSB ..................................................................................11 1.2.2 Structures of (bacterio)chlorophylls .........................................................12 1.2.3 Proposed model for (B)Chl biosynthesis in GSB.....................................13 1.2.4 Proposed model for BChl c biosynthesis in Chlorobium tepidum ...........14 1.2.5 Reduction of the C-8 vinyl group .............................................................15 1.3 The objectives of this thesis study .......................................................................16 v 1.4 References............................................................................................................17 Chapter 2 Purification and kinetic characterization of protochlorophyllide a divinyl reductase in C. tepidum 2.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................37 2.2 Materials and Methods 2.2.1 Cloning of the bciA gene and construction of the expression plasmid......37 2.2.2 Overproduction of BciA in E. coli.............................................................46 2.2.3 Purification of BciA from E. coli...............................................................47 2.2.4 Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis ...........................................................48 2.2.5 Peptide mass fingerprinting ......................................................................48 2.2.6 Purification of divinyl protochlorophyllide ..............................................49 2.2.6.1 Culture of bchJ mutant of Chlorobium tepidum...................................49 2.2.6.2 HPLC purification of bchJ mutant spent medium ................................50 2.2.7 UV-Vis Spectroscopy ................................................................................51 2.2.8 BciA divinyl reductase activity assay........................................................51 2.2.9 Kinetic characterization of BciA as a DVR...............................................52 2.3 Results 2.3.1 Expression and purification of BciA.................................................................53 2.3.2 Purification of DV-and MV-PChlide................................................................54 2.3.3 Temperature dependence of specific activity of BciA......................................54 2.3.4 pH dependence of specific activity of BciA .....................................................55 2.3.5 DVR activity of purified BciA confirmed by HPLC........................................55 2.3.6 Initial velocity analysis ....................................................................................55 vi 2.3.7 Product inhibition analysis................................................................................56 2.4 Summary and Discussion.....................................................................................57 2.5 References............................................................................................................60 vii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Phylogeny of the major eubacterial taxa based on RecA sequences........25 Figure 1.2 Phylogeny of green sulfur bacteria...........................................................26 Figure 1.3 The reductive tricarboxylic acid cycle for autotrophic CO2 fixation .......27 Figure 1.4 Structural organization of the photosystem I reaction center from Synechococcus elongates, and a representation of the equivalent complex from Chlorobium limicola ..................................................................................................28 Figure 1.5 Biosynthetic pathway of carotenoids in C. tepidum.................................29 Figure 1.6 Structure of bacterial chlorophylls ...........................................................30 Figure 1.7 Structure of Chl aPD .................................................................................31 Figure 1.8 Structure of BChl aPD ..............................................................................32 Figure 1.9 Structure of BChl cF ................................................................................33 Figure 1.10 Proposed pathway for BChl c biosynthesis in C. tepidum .....................34 Figure 1.11 Model for biosynthesis of (B)Chls from a central Chlide a intermediate................................................................................................................35 Figure 1.12 Reduction of DV-PChlide to MV-PChlide by a divinyl protochlorophyllide reductase (DVR) in C. tepidum.................................................36 Figure 2.1 Overproduction and purification of recombinant BciA............................70 Figure 2.2 Peptide mass fingerprinting identified BciA as the expression product of the gene CT1063....................................................................................................71 Figure 2.3 Non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis................................72 Figure 2.4 HPLC separation of DV-PChlide and MV-PChlide from bchJ spent medium ......................................................................................................................73 Figure 2.5 The absorption spectrum of DV-and MV-PChlide ..................................74 Figure 2.6 BciA confirmed by HPLC........................................................................76 viii Figure 2.7 Temperature dependence of the specific activity of BciA .......................76
Recommended publications
  • Anoxygenic Photosynthesis in Photolithotrophic Sulfur Bacteria and Their Role in Detoxication of Hydrogen Sulfide
    antioxidants Review Anoxygenic Photosynthesis in Photolithotrophic Sulfur Bacteria and Their Role in Detoxication of Hydrogen Sulfide Ivan Kushkevych 1,* , Veronika Bosáková 1,2 , Monika Vítˇezová 1 and Simon K.-M. R. Rittmann 3,* 1 Department of Experimental Biology, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic; [email protected] (V.B.); [email protected] (M.V.) 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, 62500 Brno, Czech Republic 3 Archaea Physiology & Biotechnology Group, Department of Functional and Evolutionary Ecology, Universität Wien, 1090 Vienna, Austria * Correspondence: [email protected] (I.K.); [email protected] (S.K.-M.R.R.); Tel.: +420-549-495-315 (I.K.); +431-427-776-513 (S.K.-M.R.R.) Abstract: Hydrogen sulfide is a toxic compound that can affect various groups of water microorgan- isms. Photolithotrophic sulfur bacteria including Chromatiaceae and Chlorobiaceae are able to convert inorganic substrate (hydrogen sulfide and carbon dioxide) into organic matter deriving energy from photosynthesis. This process takes place in the absence of molecular oxygen and is referred to as anoxygenic photosynthesis, in which exogenous electron donors are needed. These donors may be reduced sulfur compounds such as hydrogen sulfide. This paper deals with the description of this metabolic process, representatives of the above-mentioned families, and discusses the possibility using anoxygenic phototrophic microorganisms for the detoxification of toxic hydrogen sulfide. Moreover, their general characteristics, morphology, metabolism, and taxonomy are described as Citation: Kushkevych, I.; Bosáková, well as the conditions for isolation and cultivation of these microorganisms will be presented. V.; Vítˇezová,M.; Rittmann, S.K.-M.R.
    [Show full text]
  • Metagenomic Insights Into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines
    Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Recent Work Title Metagenomic Insights into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines. Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/9xc5s0v5 Journal Frontiers in microbiology, 7(FEB) ISSN 1664-302X Authors Vavourakis, Charlotte D Ghai, Rohit Rodriguez-Valera, Francisco et al. Publication Date 2016 DOI 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00211 Peer reviewed eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California ORIGINAL RESEARCH published: 25 February 2016 doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.00211 Metagenomic Insights into the Uncultured Diversity and Physiology of Microbes in Four Hypersaline Soda Lake Brines Charlotte D. Vavourakis 1, Rohit Ghai 2, 3, Francisco Rodriguez-Valera 2, Dimitry Y. Sorokin 4, 5, Susannah G. Tringe 6, Philip Hugenholtz 7 and Gerard Muyzer 1* 1 Microbial Systems Ecology, Department of Aquatic Microbiology, Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2 Evolutionary Genomics Group, Departamento de Producción Vegetal y Microbiología, Universidad Miguel Hernández, San Juan de Alicante, Spain, 3 Department of Aquatic Microbial Ecology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Ceskéˇ Budejovice,ˇ Czech Republic, 4 Research Centre of Biotechnology, Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 5 Department of Biotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, Netherlands, 6 The Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA, USA, 7 Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences and Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia Soda lakes are salt lakes with a naturally alkaline pH due to evaporative concentration Edited by: of sodium carbonates in the absence of major divalent cations.
    [Show full text]
  • Table S4. Phylogenetic Distribution of Bacterial and Archaea Genomes in Groups A, B, C, D, and X
    Table S4. Phylogenetic distribution of bacterial and archaea genomes in groups A, B, C, D, and X. Group A a: Total number of genomes in the taxon b: Number of group A genomes in the taxon c: Percentage of group A genomes in the taxon a b c cellular organisms 5007 2974 59.4 |__ Bacteria 4769 2935 61.5 | |__ Proteobacteria 1854 1570 84.7 | | |__ Gammaproteobacteria 711 631 88.7 | | | |__ Enterobacterales 112 97 86.6 | | | | |__ Enterobacteriaceae 41 32 78.0 | | | | | |__ unclassified Enterobacteriaceae 13 7 53.8 | | | | |__ Erwiniaceae 30 28 93.3 | | | | | |__ Erwinia 10 10 100.0 | | | | | |__ Buchnera 8 8 100.0 | | | | | | |__ Buchnera aphidicola 8 8 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pantoea 8 8 100.0 | | | | |__ Yersiniaceae 14 14 100.0 | | | | | |__ Serratia 8 8 100.0 | | | | |__ Morganellaceae 13 10 76.9 | | | | |__ Pectobacteriaceae 8 8 100.0 | | | |__ Alteromonadales 94 94 100.0 | | | | |__ Alteromonadaceae 34 34 100.0 | | | | | |__ Marinobacter 12 12 100.0 | | | | |__ Shewanellaceae 17 17 100.0 | | | | | |__ Shewanella 17 17 100.0 | | | | |__ Pseudoalteromonadaceae 16 16 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pseudoalteromonas 15 15 100.0 | | | | |__ Idiomarinaceae 9 9 100.0 | | | | | |__ Idiomarina 9 9 100.0 | | | | |__ Colwelliaceae 6 6 100.0 | | | |__ Pseudomonadales 81 81 100.0 | | | | |__ Moraxellaceae 41 41 100.0 | | | | | |__ Acinetobacter 25 25 100.0 | | | | | |__ Psychrobacter 8 8 100.0 | | | | | |__ Moraxella 6 6 100.0 | | | | |__ Pseudomonadaceae 40 40 100.0 | | | | | |__ Pseudomonas 38 38 100.0 | | | |__ Oceanospirillales 73 72 98.6 | | | | |__ Oceanospirillaceae
    [Show full text]
  • Distribution of Arsenite-Oxidizing Bacteria and Its Correlation with Environmental Factors in Geothermal Areas of Tengchong, Yunnan, China
    E3S Web of Conferences 98, 02002 (2019) https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20199802002 WRI-16 Distribution of arsenite-oxidizing bacteria and its correlation with environmental factors in geothermal areas of Tengchong, Yunnan, China Ping Li1,*, Dawei Jiang1, and Zhou Jiang1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China 2School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China Abstract. Arsenic (As) is an ubiquitous constituent in geothermal water. Arsenite (AsIII) is oxidized via microbial processes as the waters equilibrate with oxygen in the geothermal effluent. The distribution of arsenite oxdizing bacteria and its correlation with environment factors were studied in Tengchong geothermal areas of Yunnan, China. A total of 230 aioA clone sequences were obtained and these sequences were affiliated with four phyla: Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria, Deinococcus- Thermus and Aquificae. Temperature was negatively correlated with aioA diversity and was the only environment factor that had correlation with diversity index. Betaproteobacteria was mainly distributed in low temperature (T = 28 to 43 oC) and circumneutral or light alkaline (pH = 7 to 9) springs; Alphaproteobacteria was mainly predominant in low pH (pH = 3.3 to 3.6) springs; Deinococcus-Thermus and Aquificae mainly inhabited in high temperature (T=55 to 78 oC) springs with a wide range of pH. Usually, Deinococcus-Thermus was dominant when springs had a pH within 4.0 to 8.0. Aquificae was dominated in springs with pH > 8.0 or pH < 4.0. 1 Diversity of aioA gene A total of 230 aioA gene clone sequences from 10 sample sites were subjected to sequence similarity analysis.
    [Show full text]
  • Planctomycetes Cell Viability Studies: Perspectives of Toxicity Assessment Using Zeta Potential 2.º CICLO FCUP CIIMAR 2013
    MSc FCUP 0 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential 2.º CICLO FCUP CIIMAR 2013 Planctomycetes of toxicity assessment Planctomycetes cell cell viability viability studies: using perspectives of studies zeta potential toxicity assessment : perspectives using zeta potential Carlos Eduardo de Bento Flores Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada à BentoEduardo Flores de Carlos Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha Ambiental. Biologia Celular e Molecular 2012 / 2013 FCUP 1 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential Carlos Eduardo de Bento Flores Mestrado em Biologia Celular e Molecular Departamento de Biologia 2013 Orientador Olga Maria Oliveira da Silva Lage, Professora Auxiliar, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto FCUP 2 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential FCUP 3 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential Todas as correções determinadas pelo júri, e só essas, foram efetuadas. O Presidente do Júri, Porto, ______/______/_________ FCUP 4 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential FCUP 5 Planctomycetes cell viability studies: perspectives of toxicity assessment using zeta potential Dissertação para a candidatura ao grau de Mestre em Biologia Celular e Molecular submetida à Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto. O presente trabalho foi desenvolvido sob a orientação científica da Professora Doutora Olga Maria Oliveira da Silva Lage e foi realizado na Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade do Porto, com a colaboração do Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogeny of Nitrogenase Structural and Assembly Components Reveals New Insights Into the Origin and Distribution of Nitrogen Fixation Across Bacteria and Archaea
    microorganisms Article Phylogeny of Nitrogenase Structural and Assembly Components Reveals New Insights into the Origin and Distribution of Nitrogen Fixation across Bacteria and Archaea Amrit Koirala 1 and Volker S. Brözel 1,2,* 1 Department of Biology and Microbiology, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57006, USA; [email protected] 2 Department of Biochemistry, Genetics and Microbiology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0004, South Africa * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +1-605-688-6144 Abstract: The phylogeny of nitrogenase has only been analyzed using the structural proteins NifHDK. As nifHDKENB has been established as the minimum number of genes necessary for in silico predic- tion of diazotrophy, we present an updated phylogeny of diazotrophs using both structural (NifHDK) and cofactor assembly proteins (NifENB). Annotated Nif sequences were obtained from InterPro from 963 culture-derived genomes. Nif sequences were aligned individually and concatenated to form one NifHDKENB sequence. Phylogenies obtained using PhyML, FastTree, RapidNJ, and ASTRAL from individuals and concatenated protein sequences were compared and analyzed. All six genes were found across the Actinobacteria, Aquificae, Bacteroidetes, Chlorobi, Chloroflexi, Cyanobacteria, Deferribacteres, Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Nitrospira, Proteobacteria, PVC group, and Spirochaetes, as well as the Euryarchaeota. The phylogenies of individual Nif proteins were very similar to the overall NifHDKENB phylogeny, indicating the assembly proteins have evolved together. Our higher resolution database upheld the three cluster phylogeny, but revealed undocu- Citation: Koirala, A.; Brözel, V.S. mented horizontal gene transfers across phyla. Only 48% of the 325 genera containing all six nif genes Phylogeny of Nitrogenase Structural and Assembly Components Reveals are currently supported by biochemical evidence of diazotrophy.
    [Show full text]
  • Concerted Gene Recruitment in Early Plant Evolution Jinling Huang* and J Peter Gogarten†
    Open Access Research2008HuangVolume and 9, Issue Gogarten 7, Article R109 Concerted gene recruitment in early plant evolution Jinling Huang* and J Peter Gogarten† Addresses: *Department of Biology, Howell Science Complex, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA. †Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Connecticut, 91 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, CT 06269, USA. Correspondence: Jinling Huang. Email: [email protected] Published: 8 July 2008 Received: 30 April 2008 Revised: 24 June 2008 Genome Biology 2008, 9:R109 (doi:10.1186/gb-2008-9-7-r109) Accepted: 8 July 2008 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http://genomebiology.com/2008/9/7/R109 © 2008 Huang and Gogarten; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Eukaryotic<p>Analysesto the split ofhorizontal ofred the algae red gene andalgal transfergreen <it>Cyanidioschyzon</it> plants.</p> genome identified 37 genes that were acquired from non-organellar sources prior Abstract Background: Horizontal gene transfer occurs frequently in prokaryotes and unicellular eukaryotes. Anciently acquired genes, if retained among descendants, might significantly affect the long-term evolution of the recipient lineage. However, no systematic studies on the scope of anciently acquired genes and their impact on macroevolution are currently available in eukaryotes. Results: Analyses of the genome of the red alga Cyanidioschyzon identified 37 genes that were acquired from non-organellar sources prior to the split of red algae and green plants.
    [Show full text]
  • Systema Naturae 2000 (Phylum, 6 Nov 2017)
    The Taxonomicon Systema Naturae 2000 Classification of Domain Bacteria (prokaryotes) down to Phylum Compiled by Drs. S.J. Brands Universal Taxonomic Services 6 Nov 2017 Systema Naturae 2000 - Domain Bacteria - Domain Bacteria Woese et al. 1990 1 Genus †Eoleptonema Schopf 1983, incertae sedis 2 Genus †Primaevifilum Schopf 1983, incertae sedis 3 Genus †Archaeotrichion Schopf 1968, incertae sedis 4 Genus †Siphonophycus Schopf 1968, incertae sedis 5 Genus Bactoderma Tepper and Korshunova 1973 (Approved Lists 1980), incertae sedis 6 Genus Stibiobacter Lyalikova 1974 (Approved Lists 1980), incertae sedis 7.1.1.1.1.1 Superphylum "Proteobacteria" Craig et al. 2010 1.1 Phylum "Alphaproteobacteria" 1.2.1 Phylum "Acidithiobacillia" 1.2.2.1 Phylum "Gammaproteobacteria" 1.2.2.2.1 Candidate phylum Muproteobacteria (RIF23) Anantharaman et al. 2016 1.2.2.2.2 Phylum "Betaproteobacteria" 2 Phylum "Zetaproteobacteria" 7.1.1.1.1.2 Phylum "Deltaproteobacteria_1" 7.1.1.1.2.1.1.1 Phylum "Deltaproteobacteria" [polyphyletic] 7.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.1 Phylum "Deltaproteobacteria_2" 7.1.1.1.2.1.1.2.2 Phylum "Deltaproteobacteria_3" 7.1.1.1.2.1.2 Candidate phylum Dadabacteria (CSP1-2) Hug et al. 2015 7.1.1.1.2.2.1 Candidate phylum "MBNT15" 7.1.1.1.2.2.2 Candidate phylum "Uncultured Bacterial Phylum 10 (UBP10)" Parks et al. 2017 7.1.1.2.1 Phylum "Nitrospirae_1" 7.1.1.2.2 Phylum Chrysiogenetes Garrity and Holt 2001 7.1.2.1.1 Phylum "Nitrospirae" Garrity and Holt 2001 [polyphyletic] 7.1.2.1.2.1.1 Candidate phylum Rokubacteria (CSP1-6) Hug et al.
    [Show full text]
  • BEING Aquifex Aeolicus: UNTANGLING a HYPERTHERMOPHILE‘S CHECKERED PAST
    BEING Aquifex aeolicus: UNTANGLING A HYPERTHERMOPHILE‘S CHECKERED PAST by Robert J.M. Eveleigh Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia December 2011 © Copyright by Robert J.M. Eveleigh, 2011 DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTATIONAL BIOLOGY AND BIOINFORMATICS The undersigned hereby certify that they have read and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance a thesis entitled ―BEING Aquifex aeolicus: UNTANGLING A HYPERTHERMOPHILE‘S CHECKERED PAST‖ by Robert J.M. Eveleigh in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Dated: December 13, 2011 Co-Supervisors: _________________________________ _________________________________ Readers: _________________________________ ii DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY DATE: December 13, 2011 AUTHOR: Robert J.M. Eveleigh TITLE: BEING Aquifex aeolicus: UNTANGLING A HYPERTHERMOPHILE‘S CHECKERED PAST DEPARTMENT OR SCHOOL: Department of Computational Biology and Bioinformatics DEGREE: MSc CONVOCATION: May YEAR: 2012 Permission is herewith granted to Dalhousie University to circulate and to have copied for non-commercial purposes, at its discretion, the above title upon the request of individuals or institutions. I understand that my thesis will be electronically available to the public. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author‘s written permission. The author attests that permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material appearing in the thesis (other than the brief excerpts requiring only proper acknowledgement in scholarly writing), and that all such use is clearly acknowledged. _______________________________ Signature of Author iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Tables ....................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Ecological Observations on Phototrophic Sulfur Bacteria and the Role of These Bacteria Inth Esulfu R Cycle of Monomictic Lake Vechten (The Netherlands)
    Ecological observations on phototrophic sulfur bacteria and the role of these bacteria inth esulfu r cycle of monomictic Lake Vechten (The Netherlands). C.L.M. Steenbergen, H.J. Korthals and M.va n Nes LimnologicalInstitute, Vijverhof laboratory.Rijksstraatweg 6, 3631 ACNieuwersluis, The Netherlands Abstract. Lake Vechten, located centrally in TheNetherlands , was formed in 1941 bysan d digging. Its total area is4. 7 ha, themaximu m depth is 11 m and the mean depth is6 m .Th e water balancei s regulated by rainfall, evaporation and horizontal groundwater flow; the residence time is approximate­ ly 2 years. Lake Vechten can be classified as warm-monomictic in most years; the stable summer stratification starts in Mayan d lasts till the endo f October. Thelak e ismeso-eutrophic ; duringit s history the sulfate concentration hasincrease d considerably. Sulfide isproduce d mainly in thesedi ­ ment, its concentration inth e bottom water isrestricte d byth e occurrence ofhig h amounts of ferrous iron. At present small quantities offre e sulfide canb efoun d and phototrophic sulfur bacteria develop at theoxygen-sulfid e borderline. Phototrophic sulfur bacteria occurred in a two layer pattern; the upper one at 6.5-7.0 mdept h contained Chloronema-typefilaments , the deeper one at 7.0-7.5 mdept h consisted mainly ofChroma- tium anda brown-colore d Chlorobium. During their maximal development in September the photo­ trophic sulfur bacteria contributed on an areal basis ca. 18% t oth etota l pelagic primary production of thelake . Using sediment traps it wasshow n that phototrophic sulfur bacteria sank throughoutth e season at a rate of ca.
    [Show full text]
  • Mutagenesis and Cloning of Photosynesis Genes of the Filamentous Bacterium, Chloroflexus Aurantiacus
    Illinois Wesleyan University Digital Commons @ IWU Honors Projects Biology 4-28-2000 Mutagenesis and Cloning of Photosynesis Genes of the Filamentous Bacterium, Chloroflexus aurantiacus Kristi L. Berger '00 Illinois Wesleyan University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/bio_honproj Part of the Biology Commons Recommended Citation Berger '00, Kristi L., "Mutagenesis and Cloning of Photosynesis Genes of the Filamentous Bacterium, Chloroflexus aurantiacus" (2000). Honors Projects. 7. https://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/bio_honproj/7 This Article is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Commons @ IWU with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this material in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s) directly, unless additional rights are indicated by a Creative Commons license in the record and/ or on the work itself. This material has been accepted for inclusion by faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ©Copyright is owned by the author of this document. Mutagenesis and Cloning of Photosynthesis Genes of the Filamentous Bacterium, Chloroflexus aurantiacus Kristi L. Berger Illinois Wesleyan University Research Honors Designated: April 14, 2000 Thesis Submitted: April 28, 2000 K. Berger 2 ABSTRACT Chloroflexus aurantiacus is a green non-sulfur bacterium that preferentially grows photosynthetically under lighted, anaerobic conditions. The biosynthetic pathway for one of the photosynthetic pigments, bacteriochlorophyll c, is not well understood but may share common steps with the better understood bacteriochlorophyll a pathway.
    [Show full text]
  • Metagenomic Analysis of Microbial Community of an Amazonian Geothermal Spring in Peru
    Genomics Data 9 (2016) 63–66 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Genomics Data journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/gdata Data in Brief Metagenomic analysis of microbial community of an Amazonian geothermal spring in Peru Sujay Paul, Yolanda Cortez, Nadia Vera, Gretty K. Villena, Marcel Gutiérrez-Correa ⁎ Laboratorio de Micología y Biotecnología, Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Av. La Molina s/n, Lima 12, Peru article info abstract Article history: Aguas Calientes (AC) is an isolated geothermal spring located deep into the Amazon rainforest (7°21′12″ S, 75° Received 5 June 2016 00′54″ W) of Peru. This geothermal spring is slightly acidic (pH 5.0–7.0) in nature, with temperatures varying Received in revised form 21 June 2016 from 45 to 90 °C and continually fed by plant litter, resulting in a relatively high degree of total organic content Accepted 22 June 2016 (TOC). Pooled water sample was analyzed at 16S rRNA V3–V4 hypervariable region by amplicon metagenome Available online 26 June 2016 sequencing on Illumina HiSeq platform. A total of 2,976,534 paired ends reads were generated which were assigned into 5434 numbers of OTUs. All the resulting 16S rRNA fragments were then classified into 58 bacterial Keywords: Peruvian Amazon rainforest phyla and 2 archaeal phyla. Proteobacteria (88.06%) was found to be the highest represented phyla followed by Geothermal/hot spring Thermi (6.43%), Firmicutes (3.41%) and Aquificae (1.10%), respectively. Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were Illumina metagenome sequencing the only 2 archaeal phyla detected in this study with low abundance. Metagenomic sequences were deposited 16S rRNA based phylogeny to SRA database which is available at NCBI with accession number SRX1809286.
    [Show full text]