Phylogeny and Photosynthetic Features of Thiobacillus Acidophilus

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Phylogeny and Photosynthetic Features of Thiobacillus Acidophilus International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology (1 998), 48, 1389-1 398 Printed in Great Britain Phylogeny and photosynthetic features of Thiobacillus acidophilus and related acidophilic bacteria : its transfer to the genus Acidiphilium as Acidiphilium acidophilum comb. nov. Akira Hiraishi,’ Kenji V. P. Nagashima,’ Katsumi Matsuura,’ Keizo Shimada,’ Shinichi Takai~hi,~Norio Wakao4 and Yoko Katayama5 Author for correspondence: Akira Hiraishi. Tel: +81 532 44 6913. Fax: +81 532 44 6929. e-mail : hiraishiialeco.tut.ac.jp Department of Ecological Phylogenetic analyses based on 16s rDNA sequences and genomic DNA-DNA Engineering, Toyohashi relatedness showed that the sulphur-oxidizing facultative chemolithotroph University of Technology, Toyohashi 441, Japan Thiobacillus acidophilus was closely related to members of the genus Acidiphilium, which is a group of strictly aerobic, heterotrophic acidophiles Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropol itan now categorized into aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. Lipophilic pigment University, Hachioji 192-03, analyses revealed that zinc-chelated bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids Japan occurred in appreciable amounts in T. acidophilus and all established species of B iolog ica I Laboratory, the genus Acidiphilium. PCR experiments showed that T. acidophilus as well as Nippon Medical School, Acidiphilium species contained puf genes, encoding the photosynthetic Kawasaki 21 1, Japan reaction centre proteins and the core light-harvesting complex of the purple Department of Bioscience bacteria. There were high similarities between T. acidophilus and Acidiphilium and Technology, lwate University, Morioka 020, species in the primary structure of their reaction centre proteins deduced from Japan the nucleotide sequence data. The phylogenetic tree of the reaction centre Department of proteins was in agreement with the 165 rDNA sequence-based phylogenetic Environmental and Natural tree in the relationship between T. acidophilus and Acidiphilium species and Resources Science, Tokyo between the Acidiphilium cluster and other purple photosynthetic bacteria. University of Agriculture and Technology, Fuchu Based on these results, together with previous phylogenetic and phenotypic 183, Japan information, it is proposed to reclassify T. acidophilus (Guay and Silver) Harrison 1983 as Acidiphilium acidophilum comb. nov. The type strain is ATCC 27807T (= DSM 700T). Keywords : Thiobacillus ncidophilus, zinc-bacteriochlorophyll, photosynthetic reaction cent re, phylogeny , Acidiphilium acidophilum corn b. nov. INTRODUCTION number of acidophilic species (Harrison, 1984 ; Pronk et a/., 1990), including Thiobacillus acidophilus, in The genus Thiobacillus is a group of obligately or addition to neutrophilic thiobacilli. The name T. facultatively chemolithotrophic aerobic proteo- acidophilus was proposed by Guay & Silver (1975) for bacteria that are capable of growing with reduced some strains of facultatively chemolithotrophic acido- inorganic sulphur compounds as sole energy source, philic thiobacilli, but did not appear on the Approved but, at this time, is quite heterogeneous with members Lists of Bacterial Names (Skerman et a/., 1980). exhibiting a wide range of physiological, chemo- Harrison (1983) revived the name T. acidophilus taxonomic and genetic characteristics (Katayama- following his confirmation that this organism grew Fujimura et a/., 1982, 1983; Kelly & Harrison, 1989; equally well with elemental sulphur or glucose as a sole Lane et ul., 1985, 1992). This group encompasses a energy source. Phylogenetic analyses based on 5s rRNA sequences (Lane et a/., 1985) and partial 16s .. .. ., .. .. .. ,. .. , . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. Abbreviations: BChl, bacteriochlorophyll; BPhe, bacteriopheophytin. rRNA sequences (Lane et a/., 1992), however, indi- The DDBJ accession numbersforthe 165 rDNAsequences determined in this cated that T.acidophilus was far distant from any other paper are D86508, D86509, D86511, D86513 and AB006712; for the puf Thiobacillus species and was closely related to species gene the number is AB013379. of the genus Acic~@kilium,which includes aerobic ~- 00819 0 1998 IUMS 1389 A. Hiraishi and others acidophilic chemo-organotrophic bacteria that are American Type Culture Collection (Rockville, MD, USA). unable to use reduced sulphur compounds as energy A. multivorum AIU30 1 was isolated from acidic mine source (Harrison, 1989; Kishimoto et al., 1995b). drainage (Wakao et al., 1994). All other strains were iso- Despite the dissimilarity in sulphur metabolism be- lated newly by us from acidic mine water. All test organisms were grown aerobically at 30 "C in GYS medium, a chemic- tween and species, the T. acidophilus Acidiphiliuvlz ally defined medium (pH 3.5) which consisted of a mineral available phylogenetic information has strongly base RM2 (Hiraishi & Kitamura, 1984), 15 mM glucose as suggested that the former species should be positioned the sole carbon source and 0.03 % (w/v) yeast extract as the among members of the genus Acidiphilium. growth factor. T. acidophilus was also grown chemolitho- trophically with elemental sulphur as the energy source as Recent research has shown that Acidiphilium species described by Harrison (1983). For chemical and genetic can be categorized into a group of aerobic photo- testing, cells were harvested by centrifugation from a culture synthetic bacteria (Shimada, 1995) because of their at the late-exponential phase of growth, washed twice with production of bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) only under sterile 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6-8) and pelleted. The aerobic growth conditions and their photosynthetic cell pellets were used immediately for analysis or stored at activity (Kishimoto et al., 1995a; Wakao et al., 1993, -20 "C until they were analysed. 1994). Interestingly, it has been shown more recently Analysis of BChls. Lipophilic pigments were extracted from that representative member a of Acidiphilium, fresh wet cells with acetone-methanol (7 : 2, v/v), evaporated Acidiphilium ruhrum, contains a fully active photo- in vacuum and analysed by reverse-phase HPLC with a synthetic system with zinc-chelated bacteriochloro- Shimadzu Liquid Chromatograph LC- 1OA equipped with a phyll (Zn-BChl) a as the major pigment (Wakao et al., Beckman Ultrasphere ODS column (4-6 i.d. x 250 mm) in a 1996). This was the first demonstration of the existence column oven at 30 "C. Samples were eluted with methanol at of natural photosynthesis using (bacterio-)chloro- a flow rate of 1 ml min-l and monitored with a photodiode phylls containing a metal other than magnesium. array detector, Shimadzu SPD-IOA, in a wavelength range Further studies have shown that all established species of 350-800 nm. Post-run data analysis was performed with of the genus Acidiphilium contain the puf operon the Shimadzu CLASS-M 1 OA program. For the identi- (Nagashima et al., 1997b), which is an assemblage fication and quantification of BChls, parameters for peak of genes encoding the proteins of the photosynthetic identification and calibration of detector response factors were set in the program on the basis of HPLC data on a reaction centre (L, M and C subunits) and the core known concentration of A. rubrum Zn-BChl a which had light-harvesting complex subunits) the (a and ,!3 of been determined spectrophotometrically (Wakao et al., purple photosynthetic bacteria. The structure of the 1996). BChl a and bacteriopheophytin (BPhe) purified from puf' operon is well-conserved among species of these a purple phototrophic bacterium, Rhodobacter sphaeroides bacteria, and thus the PCR technique is applicable DSM 158', were also used as the standard pigments. for detection of a conserved region of puf genes Although zinc-chelated BChl should be called zinc-BPhe (Nagashima et al., 1997a, b). more precisely, we used herein the term Zn-BChl for convenience. These recent findings motivated us to re-evaluate the phylogenetic relationships between T. acidophilus and Analysis of carotenoids. Pigments extracted as noted above members of the genus Acidiphilium and to determine were analysed by HPLC equipped with a pBondapak C18 whet her T. acidop hilus has photosynthetic properties . column (8 mm i.d. x 100 mm) (Waters). Carotenoid com- ponents were eluted with methanol at flow rate of 2 ml min previous study undertaken to detect photopigments ' A and detected with a MCPD-3600 photodiode array detector in T. acidophilus gave negative results (Kishimoto et (Otsuka Electronics) in a wavelength range of 250-600 nm al., 1995a), but our attempts to find Zn-BChl a andpgf (Takaichi & Shimada, 1992). For spectrophotometric genes in T. acidophilus, as well as in all Acidiphilium measurement of carotenoids, the following extinction species, have been successful. Phylogenetic analyses coefficients in methanol were used: 150 mM-' cm-l at 492 based on 16s rDNA sequences, genomic DNA-DNA and 480 nm for spirilloxanthin and rhodovibrin, respect- relatedness and the L and M subunit proteins of the ively. Major carotenoids were also purified by column reaction centre demonstrated that there were close chromatography on silica gel 60 (Merck). Molecular masses relationships between T. acidophilus and Acidiphiliuni were determined by field-desorption mass spectrometry with species. These results led us to conclude that T. a double-focusing gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer acidophilus should be transferred to the genus equipped with a field desorption apparatus (Hitachi) Acidiphilium as Acidiphilium
Recommended publications
  • Characterization of Acidophilic Bacteria Related to Acidiphilium Cryptum from a Coal-Mining-Impacted River of South Brazil
    Braz. J. Aquat. Sci. Technol., 2017, 20(2). CHARACTERIZATION OF ACIDOPHILIC BACTERIA RELATED TO ACIDIPHILIUM CRYPTUM FROM A COAL-MINING-IMPACTED RIVER OF SOUTH BRAZIL DELABARY, G.S.1; LIMA, A.O.S.1 & DA SILVA, M.A.C.1* 1. Centro de Ciências Tecnológicas da Terra e do Mar, Universidade do Vale do Itajaí, Itajaí, SC, Brazil * Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT Delabary, G.S.; Lima, A.O.S. & da Silva, M.A.C., 2017. Characterization of acidophilic bacteria related to Acidiphilium cryptum from a coal-mining-impacted river of South Brazil. Braz. J. Aquat. Sci. Technol. 20(2). eISSN 1983-9057. DOI: 10.14210/bjast.v20n2. Three acidophilic bacteria were isolated from water and sediment samples collected at a coal mining-impacted river, Rio Sangão, located in the city of Criciúma, Santa Catarina state, in southern Brazil. These microorganisms were isolated in acid media and were phylogenetic related to the species Acidiphilium cryptum by its 16S rRNA gene sequences, although they differ from this species in the assimilation of some carbon sources. The optimum and the maximum pH for growth of all strains were nearly 3.0 and 5.0-6.0, respectively. Two of the strains were slightly more acidophilic, with the minimum pH for growth of 2.0. All strains also tolerate the four tested metals (Ni, Zn, Cu and Se) at variable concentrations, with LAMA 1486 being the most metal-resistant strain. These bacteria may belong to different ecotypes of A. cryptum, or even represent new species in the genus. Besides they bear characteristics that make them useful in the development of bioremediation process, for the treatment of sites contaminated with multiple toxic metals, including coal mining drainage.
    [Show full text]
  • Extremophiles-Basic Concepts
    CONTENTS CONTENTS EXTREMOPHILES Extremophiles - Volume 1 No. of Pages: 396 ISBN: 978-1-905839-93-3 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-993-4 (Print Volume) Extremophiles - Volume 2 No. of Pages: 392 ISBN: 978-1-905839-94-0 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-994-1 (Print Volume) Extremophiles - Volume 3 No. of Pages: 364 ISBN: 978-1-905839-95-7 (eBook) ISBN: 978-1-84826-995-8 (Print Volume) For more information of e-book and Print Volume(s) order, please click here Or contact : [email protected] ©Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS) EXTREMOPHILES CONTENTS VOLUME I Extremophiles: Basic Concepts 1 Charles Gerday, Laboratory of Biochemistry, University of Liège, Belgium 1. Introduction 2. Effects of Extreme Conditions on Cellular Components 2.1. Membrane Structure 2.2. Nucleic Acids 2.2.1. Introduction 2.2.2. Desoxyribonucleic Acids 2.2.3. Ribonucleic Acids 2.3. Proteins 2.3.1. Introduction 2.3.2. Thermophilic Proteins 2.3.2.1. Enthalpically Driven Stabilization Factors: 2.3.2.2. Entropically Driven Stabilization Factors: 2.3.3. Psychrophilic Proteins 2.3.4. Halophilic Proteins 2.3.5. Piezophilic Proteins 2.3.5.1. Interaction with Other Proteins and Ligands: 2.3.5.2. Substrate Binding and Catalytic Efficiency: 2.3.6. Alkaliphilic Proteins 2.3.7. Acidophilic Proteins 3. Conclusions Extremophiles: Overview of the Biotopes 43 Michael Gross, University of London, London, UK 1. Introduction 2. Extreme Temperatures 2.1. Terrestrial Hot Springs 2.2. Hot Springs on the Ocean Floor and Black Smokers 2.3. Life at Low Temperatures 3. High Pressure 3.1.
    [Show full text]
  • Structural and Functional Insights from the Metagenome of an Acidic Hot Spring Microbial Planktonic Community in the Colombian Andes
    Structural and Functional Insights from the Metagenome of an Acidic Hot Spring Microbial Planktonic Community in the Colombian Andes Diego Javier Jime´nez1,5*, Fernando Dini Andreote3, Diego Chaves1, Jose´ Salvador Montan˜ a1,2, Cesar Osorio-Forero1,4, Howard Junca1,4, Marı´a Mercedes Zambrano1,4, Sandra Baena1,2 1 Colombian Center for Genomic and Bioinformatics from Extreme Environments (GeBiX), Bogota´, Colombia, 2 Departamento de Biologı´a, Unidad de Saneamiento y Biotecnologı´a Ambiental, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Bogota´, Colombia, 3 Department of Soil Science, ‘‘Luiz de Queiroz’’ College of Agriculture, University of Sao Paulo, Piracicaba, Brazil, 4 Molecular Genetics and Microbial Ecology Research Groups, Corporacio´n CorpoGen, Bogota´, Colombia, 5 Department of Microbial Ecology, Center for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies (CEES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands Abstract A taxonomic and annotated functional description of microbial life was deduced from 53 Mb of metagenomic sequence retrieved from a planktonic fraction of the Neotropical high Andean (3,973 meters above sea level) acidic hot spring El Coquito (EC). A classification of unassembled metagenomic reads using different databases showed a high proportion of Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria (in total read affiliation), and through taxonomic affiliation of 16S rRNA gene fragments we observed the presence of Proteobacteria, micro-algae chloroplast and Firmicutes. Reads mapped against the genomes Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5, Legionella pneumophila str. Corby and Acidithiobacillus caldus revealed the presence of transposase-like sequences, potentially involved in horizontal gene transfer. Functional annotation and hierarchical comparison with different datasets obtained by pyrosequencing in different ecosystems showed that the microbial community also contained extensive DNA repair systems, possibly to cope with ultraviolet radiation at such high altitudes.
    [Show full text]
  • C, Compound-Utilizing Bacteria, the So-Called Methylotrophs Or Methano
    J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 42, 431-437 (1996) Short Communication POLYAMINE I)ISTRIBUTION PATTERNS IN C, COMPOUND-UTILIZING EUBACTERIA AND ACIDOPHILIC EUBACTERIA KOEI HAMANA* AND NORIAKI KISHIMOTO' College of Medical Care and Technology, Gunma University, Maebashi 371, Japan ' Mimasaka Women's Junior College, Tsuyama 708, Japan (Received January 30, 1996; Accepted September 5, 1996) C, compound-utilizing bacteria, the so-called methylotrophs or methano- trophs, are a diverse group of Gram-negative proteobacteria which obligately or facultatively oxidize methane, methanol and methylamine as sole sources of carbon and energy. The class Proteobacteria is phylogenetically comprised of alpha, beta, gamma, delta and epsilon subclasses; furthermore, each subclass is divided into several clusters corresponding to orders or families (19). Methylobacterium, Methylosinus, and Methylocystis belong to the alpha-2 subclass (12, 21). Methylo- bacillus, Methylophilus, and Methylovorus are located in the beta subclass (12). Methylococcus, Methylobacter, Methylomicrobium, and Methylomonas are the mem- bers of the family Methylococcaceae of the gamma subclass (1,12). The phylo- genetic position of Methylophaga within the Proteobacteria, however, is still not clear. A methanol oxidizer, Ancylobacter aquaticus was confirmed as belonging to the alpha subclass (22). Non-methane-, non-methanol-, and methylamine-utilizing proteobacteria; a genus, Aminobacter, and three species, A. aminovorans, A. agano- ensis, and A. niigataensis, probably belong to the alpha subclass (20). A study of a non-methane-, methanol-, and methylamine-utilizing, budding proteobacterium, Hyphomicrobium, belonging to the alpha subclass, was published recently (23). New members of acidophilic chemo-organotrophic proteobacteria belonging to the genus Acidiphilium (14,16,25) and the genus Acidocella transferred from * Address reprint requests to: Dr .
    [Show full text]
  • Acidocella Aquatica Sp Nov., a Novel Acidophilic Heterotrophic Bacterium Isolated from a Freshwater Lake
    Title Acidocella aquatica sp nov., a novel acidophilic heterotrophic bacterium isolated from a freshwater lake Author(s) Okamoto, Rei; Kojima, Hisaya; Fukui, Manabu International journal of systematic and evolutionary microbiology, 67(11), 4773-4776 Citation https://doi.org/10.1099/ijsem.0.002376 Issue Date 2017-11 Doc URL http://hdl.handle.net/2115/71787 Type article (author version) Additional Information There are other files related to this item in HUSCAP. Check the above URL. File Information Ok2G_170907.pdf Instructions for use Hokkaido University Collection of Scholarly and Academic Papers : HUSCAP 1 Acidocella aquatica sp. nov., a novel acidophilic heterotrophic bacterium isolated 2 from a freshwater lake 3 4 5 6 Rei Okamoto1,2, Hisaya Kojima1*, Manabu Fukui 1 7 8 1 The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 9 2 Graduate School of Environmental Science, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan 10 11 12 *Correspondence: Hisaya Kojima, The Institute of Low Temperature Science, Hokkaido University, 13 Nishi 8, Kita 19, Kita-ku Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-0819, Japan. 14 Tel.: +81 11 706 5460; fax: +81 11 706 5460; e-mail: [email protected] 15 16 17 18 19 Running head: Acidocella aquatica sp. nov. 20 Subject category: New taxa: Proteobacteria 21 22 23 The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the 16S rRNA gene sequences of strain Ok2GT is 24 LC199502. 25 26 1 27 Summary 28 A novel acidophilic heterotrophic bacterium, strain Ok2GT, was isolated from a freshwater lake in Japan. 29 Cells of the isolate were Gram-stain-negative and non-motile rods (0.6–0.8×1.0–2.8 µm).
    [Show full text]
  • Genomic and Physiological Comparisons Between Heterotrophic Thiobacilli and Acidiphilium Cryptum, Thiobacillus Versutus Sp
    INTERNATIONALJOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC BACTERIOLOGY,Apr. 1983, p. 211-217 Vol. 33, No. 2 OO2O-7713/83/02021l-O7$02.0O/O Copyright 0 1983, International Union of Microbiological Societies Genomic and Physiological Comparisons Between Heterotrophic Thiobacilli and Acidiphilium cryptum, Thiobacillus versutus sp. nov. and Thiobacillus acidophilus nom. rev. ARTHUR P. HARRISON, JR. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 6521 1 Acidiphilium cryptum grows in yeast extract media with or without elemental sulfur. The growth rate and the cell yield are not changed by the presence of sulfur, but the pH of the medium drops slightly when sulfur is present, presumably because of gratuitous sulfur oxidation. No growth occurs with sulfur alone. A. cryptum is an obligate chemoorganotroph. Thiobacillus acidophilus grows equally well with either elemental sulfur or glucose as a sole energy source; this organism is a facultative autotroph. Since the name T. acidophilus does not appear on the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, it is revived here, and strain ATCC 27807 is designated the type strain. Thiobacillus perometabolis is considered a subspecies of Thiobacillus intermedius on the basis of close phenotypic similarity and deoxyribonucleic acid homology. Thiobacillus sp. strain A2 is a distinctive mixotroph that shows little deoxyribonucleic acid homology with other species of Thiobacillus. This organism is named Thiobacillus versutus, and strain ATCC 25364 is designated the type strain. Aerobic, mesophilic, nonsporulating, gram- by Taylor and Hoare (19). These two organisms negative, rod-shaped bacteria which utilize ele- can grow autotrophically with thiosulfate as the mental sulfur or compounds containing oxidiz- energy source, heterotrophically with organic able sulfur as sources of energy were placed by compounds, or mixotrophically by using inor- Vishniac (20) in the genus Thiobacillus Beije- ganic and organic compounds simultaneously.
    [Show full text]
  • Isolation, Characterization of Acidiphilium Sp. DX1-1 and Ore Bioleaching by This Acidophilic Mixotrophic Organism
    Trans. Nonferrous Met. Soc. China 23(2013) 1774−1782 Isolation, characterization of Acidiphilium sp. DX1-1 and ore bioleaching by this acidophilic mixotrophic organism Yan-fei ZHANG1,2, An-an PENG1,2, Yu YANG 1,2, Jian-she LIU1, Guan-zhou QIU1,2 1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; 2. Key Laboratory of Biohydrometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China Received 11 January 2013; accepted 5 June 2013 Abstract: The isolation and characterization of a subspecies of Acidiphilium that not only acts as an enhancer of other autotrophic acidophiles in bioleaching, but also has significant leaching capacity towards marmatite was described. Acidiphilium sp. DX1-1, a Gram-negative, motile, short rod-shaped bacterium that accumulates intracellular polyhydroxybutyrate, was isolated from the Dexing copper mine area in China. It is mesophilic and acidophilic with an optimum growth at 30 °C and pH 3.5. Phylogenetic analyses identify that it is a member of genus Acidiphilium and closely related to Acidiphilium cryptum and Acidiphilium multivorum. It is mixotrophic, utilizing organic substrates and a range of inorganic substrates, such as sulfur, ferric iron and a variety of sulfide minerals. Acidiphilium sp. DX1-1 is able to bioleach 40% of the zinc content of marmatite with the initial pH 3.5 within a month, which is even higher than that of A. ferrooxidans or the mixed culture with A. ferrooxidans at even lower pH. Key words: Acidiphilium sp.; bioleaching; marmatite; chalcopyrite; polyhydroxybutyrate; 16S rRNA substrates. 1 Introduction Acidiphilium spp. are Gram-negative, mesophilic, aerobic, acidophilic, heterotrophic, rod-shaped bacteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogenomics and Signature Proteins for the Alpha Proteobacteria and Its Main Groups Radhey S Gupta* and Amy Mok
    BMC Microbiology BioMed Central Research article Open Access Phylogenomics and signature proteins for the alpha Proteobacteria and its main groups Radhey S Gupta* and Amy Mok Address: Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science, McMaster University, Hamilton L8N3Z5, Canada Email: Radhey S Gupta* - [email protected]; Amy Mok - [email protected] * Corresponding author Published: 28 November 2007 Received: 20 July 2007 Accepted: 28 November 2007 BMC Microbiology 2007, 7:106 doi:10.1186/1471-2180-7-106 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/7/106 © 2007 Gupta and Mok; 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. Abstract Background: Alpha proteobacteria are one of the largest and most extensively studied groups within bacteria. However, for these bacteria as a whole and for all of its major subgroups (viz. Rhizobiales, Rhodobacterales, Rhodospirillales, Rickettsiales, Sphingomonadales and Caulobacterales), very few or no distinctive molecular or biochemical characteristics are known. Results: We have carried out comprehensive phylogenomic analyses by means of Blastp and PSI- Blast searches on the open reading frames in the genomes of several α-proteobacteria (viz. Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Brucella suis, Caulobacter crescentus, Gluconobacter oxydans, Mesorhizobium loti, Nitrobacter winogradskyi, Novosphingobium aromaticivorans, Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1, Silicibacter sp. TM1040, Rhodospirillum rubrum and Wolbachia (Drosophila) endosymbiont). These studies have identified several proteins that are distinctive characteristics of all α-proteobacteria, as well as numerous proteins that are unique repertoires of all of its main orders (viz.
    [Show full text]
  • Six Strains of Acidophilic Chemoorganotrophic Bacteria from Acid Mine Drainage Were Studied in Their Taxonomic Aspects
    J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol., 40, 143-159 (1994) ACIDIPHILI UM MULTIVOR UM SP. NOV., AN ACIDOPHILIC CHEMOORGANOTROPHIC BACTERIUM FROM PYRITIC ACID MINE DRAINAGE NORIO WAKAO,* NAOSHI NAGASAWA,TSUNEAKI MATSUURA, HISATO MATSUKURA,TAKEHIKO MATSUMOTO, AKIRA HIRAISHI,` YONEKICHI SAKURAI, ANDHIDEO SHIOTA Laboratory of AppliedMicrobiology, Department of Bioscienceand Technology, Faculty of Agriculture,Iwate University,Morioka 020, Japan 'Laborator'yof EnvironmentalBiotechnology, KonishiCo., Ltd., Sumida-ku, Tokyo130, Japan (ReceivedSeptember 10, 1993;Accepted March 10, 1994) Six strains of acidophilic chemoorganotrophic bacteria from acid mine drainage were studied in their taxonomic aspects. They were gram negative, aerobic, mesophilic, oxidase negative, catalase positive, urease positive, nonsporeforming, and rod-shaped. Carotenoid and bacteriochlo- rophyll a were formed. Two strains had a polar flagellum and other two strains fimbriae. They used a wide variety of organic compounds for growth, but did not use ferrous iron, elemental sulfur, and thiosulfate as the sole energy source. Acetate was inhibitory to growth. Growth was enhanced by adding high concentrations of glucose or complex organic compounds such as trypticase soy (BBL) and yeast extract. Methanol was utilized as the sole source of carbon and energy. The major ubiquinone was Q-10. The major cellular fatty acid was straight-chain unsaturated C18,, acid. The hydroxy acid was 3-OH C14:0acid. The DNA base composition was 66.2 to 68.1 mol% guanine plus cytosine. The isolates showed relatively low levels of genetic similarity to Acidiphilium cryptum and Acidiphilium organovorum. On the basis of the phenotypic, chemotaxonomic, and genotypic characters, we conclude the isolates as a new species, for which we propose Acidiphilium multivorum sp.
    [Show full text]
  • Distribution of Acidophilic Microorganisms in Natural and Man- Made Acidic Environments Sabrina Hedrich and Axel Schippers*
    Distribution of Acidophilic Microorganisms in Natural and Man- made Acidic Environments Sabrina Hedrich and Axel Schippers* Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Resource Geochemistry Hannover, Germany *Correspondence: [email protected] https://doi.org/10.21775/cimb.040.025 Abstract areas, or environments where acidity has arisen Acidophilic microorganisms can thrive in both due to human activities, such as mining of metals natural and man-made environments. Natural and coal. In such environments elemental sulfur acidic environments comprise hydrothermal sites and other reduced inorganic sulfur compounds on land or in the deep sea, cave systems, acid sulfate (RISCs) are formed from geothermal activities or soils and acidic fens, as well as naturally exposed the dissolution of minerals. Weathering of metal ore deposits (gossans). Man-made acidic environ- sulfdes due to their exposure to air and water leads ments are mostly mine sites including mine waste to their degradation to protons (acid), RISCs and dumps and tailings, acid mine drainage and biomin- metal ions such as ferrous and ferric iron, copper, ing operations. Te biogeochemical cycles of sulfur zinc etc. and iron, rather than those of carbon and nitrogen, RISCs and metal ions are abundant at acidic assume centre stage in these environments. Ferrous sites where most of the acidophilic microorganisms iron and reduced sulfur compounds originating thrive using iron and/or sulfur redox reactions. In from geothermal activity or mineral weathering contrast to biomining operations such as heaps provide energy sources for acidophilic, chemo- and bioleaching tanks, which are ofen aerated to lithotrophic iron- and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria and enhance the activities of mineral-oxidizing prokary- archaea (including species that are autotrophic, otes, geothermal and other natural environments, heterotrophic or mixotrophic) and, in contrast to can harbour a more diverse range of acidophiles most other types of environments, these are ofen including obligate anaerobes.
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogenomics and Signature Proteins for the Alpha Proteobacteria and Its Main Groups Radhey S Gupta* and Amy Mok
    BMC Microbiology BioMed Central Research article Open Access Phylogenomics and signature proteins for the alpha Proteobacteria and its main groups Radhey S Gupta* and Amy Mok Address: Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Science, McMaster University, Hamilton L8N3Z5, Canada Email: Radhey S Gupta* - [email protected]; Amy Mok - [email protected] * Corresponding author Published: 28 November 2007 Received: 20 July 2007 Accepted: 28 November 2007 BMC Microbiology 2007, 7:106 doi:10.1186/1471-2180-7-106 This article is available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/7/106 © 2007 Gupta and Mok; 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. Abstract Background: Alpha proteobacteria are one of the largest and most extensively studied groups within bacteria. However, for these bacteria as a whole and for all of its major subgroups (viz. Rhizobiales, Rhodobacterales, Rhodospirillales, Rickettsiales, Sphingomonadales and Caulobacterales), very few or no distinctive molecular or biochemical characteristics are known. Results: We have carried out comprehensive phylogenomic analyses by means of Blastp and PSI- Blast searches on the open reading frames in the genomes of several α-proteobacteria (viz. Bradyrhizobium japonicum, Brucella suis, Caulobacter crescentus, Gluconobacter oxydans, Mesorhizobium loti, Nitrobacter winogradskyi, Novosphingobium aromaticivorans, Rhodobacter sphaeroides 2.4.1, Silicibacter sp. TM1040, Rhodospirillum rubrum and Wolbachia (Drosophila) endosymbiont). These studies have identified several proteins that are distinctive characteristics of all α-proteobacteria, as well as numerous proteins that are unique repertoires of all of its main orders (viz.
    [Show full text]
  • Permanent Draft Genome Sequence of Acidiphilium Sp. JA12-A1 Sophie R
    Ullrich et al. Standards in Genomic Sciences (2015) 10:56 DOI 10.1186/s40793-015-0040-y EXTENDED GENOME REPORT Open Access Permanent draft genome sequence of Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1 Sophie R. Ullrich1†, Anja Poehlein2† , Sonja Voget2, Michael Hoppert3, Rolf Daniel2, Andreas Leimbach2 , Judith S. Tischler1, Michael Schlömann1 and Martin Mühling1* Abstract The tenacious association between strains of the heterotrophic alphaproteobacterial genus Acidiphilium and chemolithotrophic iron oxidizing bacteria has long been known. In this context the genome of the heterotroph Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1, an isolate from an iron oxidizing mixed culture derived from a pilot plant for bioremediation of acid mine drainage, was determined with the aim to reveal metabolic properties that are fundamental for the syntrophic interaction between Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1 and the co-occurring chemolithoautotrophic iron oxidizer. The genome sequence consists of 4.18 Mbp on 297 contigs and harbors 4015 protein-coding genes and 50 RNA genes. Additionally, the molecular and functional organization of the Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1 draft genome was compared to those of the close relatives Acidiphilium cryptum JF-5, Acidiphilium multivorum AIU301 and Acidiphilium sp. PM DSM 24941. The comparative genome analysis underlines the close relationship between these strains and the highly similar metabolic potential supports the idea that other Acidiphilium strains play a similar role in various acid mine drainage communities. Nevertheless, in contrast to other closely related strains Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1 may be able to take up phosphonates as an additional source of phosphor. Keywords: Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1, acid mine drainage, AMD, microbial community, acidophilic bacteria Introduction oxidation rate of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans have indi- Strains of the alphaproteobacterial genus Acidiphilium cated a stimulating influence of Acidiphilium acidophilus have first been isolated from supposed pure cultures of iron on Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans [8].
    [Show full text]