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Salman V, Bailey JV, Teske A. Phylogenetic and morphologic complexity of giant sulphur bacteria. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek 2013; 104:169-86. [PMID: 23793621 DOI: 10.1007/s10482-013-9952-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2013] [Accepted: 06/10/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The large sulphur bacteria, first discovered in the early nineteenth century, include some of the largest bacteria identified to date. Individual cells are often visible to the unaided eye and can reach 750 μm in diameter. The cells usually feature light-refracting inclusions of elemental sulphur and a large internal aqueous vacuole, which restricts the cytoplasm to the outermost periphery. In some taxa, it has been demonstrated that the vacuole can also serve for the storage of high millimolar concentrations of nitrate. Over the course of the past two centuries, a wide range of morphological variation within the family Beggiatoaceae has been found. However, representatives of this clade are frequently recalcitrant to current standard microbiological techniques, including 16S rRNA gene sequencing and culturing, and a reliable classification of these bacteria is often complicated. Here we present a summary of the efforts made and achievements accomplished in the past years, and give perspectives for investigating the heterogeneity and possible evolutionary developments in this extraordinary group of bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Salman
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3300, USA.
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2
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Salman V, Amann R, Girnth AC, Polerecky L, Bailey JV, Høgslund S, Jessen G, Pantoja S, Schulz-Vogt HN. A single-cell sequencing approach to the classification of large, vacuolated sulfur bacteria. Syst Appl Microbiol 2011; 34:243-59. [PMID: 21498017 DOI: 10.1016/j.syapm.2011.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2010] [Revised: 02/20/2011] [Accepted: 02/21/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
The colorless, large sulfur bacteria are well known because of their intriguing appearance, size and abundance in sulfidic settings. Since their discovery in 1803 these bacteria have been classified according to their conspicuous morphology. However, in microbiology the use of morphological criteria alone to predict phylogenetic relatedness has frequently proven to be misleading. Recent sequencing of a number of 16S rRNA genes of large sulfur bacteria revealed frequent inconsistencies between the morphologically determined taxonomy of genera and the genetically derived classification. Nevertheless, newly described bacteria were classified based on their morphological properties, leading to polyphyletic taxa. We performed sequencing of 16S rRNA genes and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions, together with detailed morphological analysis of hand-picked individuals of novel non-filamentous as well as known filamentous large sulfur bacteria, including the hitherto only partially sequenced species Thiomargarita namibiensis, Thioploca araucae and Thioploca chileae. Based on 128 nearly full-length 16S rRNA-ITS sequences, we propose the retention of the family Beggiatoaceae for the genera closely related to Beggiatoa, as opposed to the recently suggested fusion of all colorless sulfur bacteria into one family, the Thiotrichaceae. Furthermore, we propose the addition of nine Candidatus species along with seven new Candidatus genera to the family Beggiatoaceae. The extended family Beggiatoaceae thus remains monophyletic and is phylogenetically clearly separated from other related families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Salman
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany.
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3
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Nelson DC, Revsbech NP, Jørgensen BB. Microoxic-Anoxic Niche of Beggiatoa spp.: Microelectrode Survey of Marine and Freshwater Strains. Appl Environ Microbiol 2010; 52:161-8. [PMID: 16347103 PMCID: PMC203429 DOI: 10.1128/aem.52.1.161-168.1986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Beggiatoa spp. grow optimally in media containing opposed gradients of oxygen and soluble sulfide, although some strains also require an organic substrate. By using microelectrodes, we characterized oxygen and sulfide gradients during their initial development in uninoculated media and in cultures of marine and freshwater strains. In gradient media, Beggiatoa strains always grew some distance below the air/agar interface as a dense "plate" of constantly gliding filaments with sharply demarcated upper and lower boundaries. Within established plates, the maximum oxygen partial pressure was 0.6 to 6.0% of air saturation and not significantly lower if filaments were fixing nitrogen. Oxygen penetrated only 100 to 300 mum into the plate, and the anoxic fraction increased from less than 10% to approximately 90% during later stages of growth. For lithoautotrophically grown marine strains, the linearity of the oxygen profile above the plate plus its drop to zero therein indicated that oxygen uptake for the entire tube occurred only within the Beggiatoa plate. Consequently, oxygen consumption could be predicted solely from the distance between the air/agar interface and the top of a plate, given the diffusion coefficient for oxygen. By contrast, for freshwater strains grown heterotrophically (with sulfide also in the medium), oxygen profiles were frequently nonlinear because of nonbiological reaction with sulfide which had diffused past the aggregated filaments. For all strains tested, microoxic aggregation also occurred in the absence of sulfide, apparently reflecting a step-up phobic response to oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Nelson
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hoie, Massachusetts 02543, and Institute of Ecology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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4
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Hagen KD, Nelson DC. Organic carbon utilization by obligately and facultatively autotrophic beggiatoa strains in homogeneous and gradient cultures. Appl Environ Microbiol 2010; 62:947-53. [PMID: 16535281 PMCID: PMC1388806 DOI: 10.1128/aem.62.3.947-953.1996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine Beggiatoa strains MS-81-6 and MS-81-1c are filamentous gliding bacteria that use hydrogen sulfide and thiosulfate as electron donors for chemolithotrophic energy generation. They are known to be capable of chemolithoautotrophic growth in sulfide gradient media; here we report the first successful bulk cultivation of these strains in a defined liquid medium. To investigate their nutritional versatilities, strains MS-81-6 and MS-81-1c were grown in sulfide-oxygen gradient media supplemented with single organic compounds. Respiration rates and biomass production relative to those of controls grown in unsupplemented sulfide-limited media were monitored to determine whether organic compounds were utilized as sources of energy and/or cell carbon. With cells grown in sulfide gradient and liquid media, we showed that strain MS-81-6 strongly regulates two enzymes, the tricarboxylic acid cycle enzyme 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase and the Calvin cycle enzyme ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, in response to the presence of organic carbon (acetate) in the growth medium. In contrast, strain MS-81-1c lacked 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase activity and regulated ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase activity only slightly in response to organic substrates. Tracer experiments with radiolabeled acetate showed that strain MS-81-1c did not oxidize acetate to CO(inf2) but could synthesize approximately 20% of its cell carbon from acetate. On the basis of these results, we conclude that Beggiatoa strain MS-81-1c is an obligate chemolithoautotroph, while strain MS-81-6 is a versatile facultative chemolithoautotroph.
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5
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Abstract
Two freshwater strains of the gammaproteobacterium Beggiatoa alba, B18LD and OH75-2a, are able to use methanol as a sole carbon and energy source under microoxic conditions. Genes encoding a methanol dehydrogenase large-subunit homolog and four enzymes of the tetrahydromethanopterin-dependent C(1) oxidation pathway were identified in B18LD. No evidence of methanotrophy was detected.
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Mußmann M, Hu FZ, Richter M, de Beer D, Preisler A, Jørgensen BB, Huntemann M, Glöckner FO, Amann R, Koopman WJH, Lasken RS, Janto B, Hogg J, Stoodley P, Boissy R, Ehrlich GD. Insights into the genome of large sulfur bacteria revealed by analysis of single filaments. PLoS Biol 2007; 5:e230. [PMID: 17760503 PMCID: PMC1951784 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.0050230] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2007] [Accepted: 06/26/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Marine sediments are frequently covered by mats of the filamentous Beggiatoa and other large nitrate-storing bacteria that oxidize hydrogen sulfide using either oxygen or nitrate, which they store in intracellular vacuoles. Despite their conspicuous metabolic properties and their biogeochemical importance, little is known about their genetic repertoire because of the lack of pure cultures. Here, we present a unique approach to access the genome of single filaments of Beggiatoa by combining whole genome amplification, pyrosequencing, and optical genome mapping. Sequence assemblies were incomplete and yielded average contig sizes of approximately 1 kb. Pathways for sulfur oxidation, nitrate and oxygen respiration, and CO2 fixation confirm the chemolithoautotrophic physiology of Beggiatoa. In addition, Beggiatoa potentially utilize inorganic sulfur compounds and dimethyl sulfoxide as electron acceptors. We propose a mechanism of vacuolar nitrate accumulation that is linked to proton translocation by vacuolar-type ATPases. Comparative genomics indicates substantial horizontal gene transfer of storage, metabolic, and gliding capabilities between Beggiatoa and cyanobacteria. These capabilities enable Beggiatoa to overcome non-overlapping availabilities of electron donors and acceptors while gliding between oxic and sulfidic zones. The first look into the genome of these filamentous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria substantially deepens the understanding of their evolution and their contribution to sulfur and nitrogen cycling in marine sediments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Mußmann
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: (MM); (FOG); (GDE)
| | - Fen Z Hu
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Michael Richter
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
- School of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Dirk de Beer
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - André Preisler
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Bo B Jørgensen
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Marcel Huntemann
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
- School of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
| | - Frank Oliver Glöckner
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
- School of Engineering and Sciences, Jacobs University Bremen, Bremen, Germany
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: (MM); (FOG); (GDE)
| | - Rudolf Amann
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
| | - Werner J. H Koopman
- Department of Membrane Biochemistry, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Roger S Lasken
- J. Craig Venter Institute, Rockville, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Benjamin Janto
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Justin Hogg
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Paul Stoodley
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Robert Boissy
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Garth D Ehrlich
- Center for Genomic Sciences, Allegheny General Hospital/Allegheny-Singer Research Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: (MM); (FOG); (GDE)
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7
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Ahmad A, Kalanetra KM, Nelson DC. Cultivated Beggiatoa spp. define the phylogenetic root of morphologically diverse, noncultured, vacuolate sulfur bacteria. Can J Microbiol 2006; 52:591-8. [PMID: 16788728 DOI: 10.1139/w05-154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Within the last 10 years, numerous SSU rRNA sequences have been collected from natural populations of conspicuous, vacuolate, colorless sulfur bacteria, which form a phylogenetically cohesive cluster (large-vacuolate sulfur bacteria clade) in the gamma-Proteobacteria. Currently, this clade is composed of four named or de facto genera: all known Thioploca and Thiomargarita strains, all vacuolate Beggiatoa strains, and several strains of vacuolate, attached filaments, which bear a superficial similarity to Thiothrix. Some of these vacuolate bacteria accumulate nitrate for respiratory purposes. This clade encompasses the largest known prokaryotic cells (Thiomargarita namibiensis) and several strains that are important in the global marine sulfur cycle. Here, we report additional sequences from five pure culture strains of Beggiatoa spp., including the only two cultured marine strains (nonvacuolate), which firmly establish the root of this vacuolate clade. Each of several diverse metabolic motifs, including obligate and facultative chemolithoautotrophy, probable mixotrophy, and seemingly strict organoheterotrophy, is represented in at least one of the nonvacuolate strains that root the vacuolate clade. Because the genus designation Beggiatoa is interspersed throughout the vacuolate clade along with other recognized or de facto genera, the need for taxonomic revision is clear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azeem Ahmad
- Section of Microbiology, University of California, Davis, 95616, USA
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8
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Zhang CL, Huang Z, Cantu J, Pancost RD, Brigmon RL, Lyons TW, Sassen R. Lipid biomarkers and carbon isotope signatures of a microbial (Beggiatoa) mat associated with gas hydrates in the gulf of Mexico. Appl Environ Microbiol 2005; 71:2106-12. [PMID: 15812044 PMCID: PMC1082508 DOI: 10.1128/aem.71.4.2106-2112.2005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2004] [Accepted: 10/29/2004] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
White and orange mats are ubiquitous on surface sediments associated with gas hydrates and cold seeps in the Gulf of Mexico. The goal of this study was to determine the predominant pathways for carbon cycling within an orange mat in Green Canyon (GC) block GC 234 in the Gulf of Mexico. Our approach incorporated laser-scanning confocal microscopy, lipid biomarkers, stable carbon isotopes, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Confocal microscopy showed the predominance of filamentous microorganisms (4 to 5 mum in diameter) in the mat sample, which are characteristic of Beggiatoa. The phospholipid fatty acids extracted from the mat sample were dominated by 16:1omega7c/t (67%), 18:1omega7c (17%), and 16:0 (8%), which are consistent with lipid profiles of known sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, including Beggiatoa. These results are supported by the 16S rRNA gene analysis of the mat material, which yielded sequences that are all related to the vacuolated sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, including Beggiatoa, Thioploca, and Thiomargarita. The delta13C value of total biomass was -28.6 per thousand; those of individual fatty acids were -29.4 to -33.7 per thousand. These values suggested heterotrophic growth of Beggiatoa on organic substrates that may have delta13C values characteristic of crude oil or on their by-products from microbial degradation. This study demonstrated that integrating lipid biomarkers, stable isotopes, and molecular DNA could enhance our understanding of the metabolic functions of Beggiatoa mats in sulfide-rich marine sediments associated with gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico and other locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanlun L Zhang
- Department of Marine Sciences and Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, University of Georgia, Drawer E, Aiken, SC 29802, USA.
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9
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Grabovich MY, Patritskaya VY, Muntyan MS, Dubinina GA. Lithoautotrophic growth of the freshwater strain Beggiatoa D-402 and energy conservation in a homogeneous culture under microoxic conditions. FEMS Microbiol Lett 2001; 204:341-5. [PMID: 11731146 DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.2001.tb10908.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The freshwater filamentous bacterium Beggiatoa D-402 was shown to grow lithoautotrophically in a homogeneous culture under microoxic conditions only, the growth yield being the highest at 0.1 mg O(2) l(-1). High activities of the Calvin cycle key enzymes and of the dissimilatory path thiosulfate oxidation enzymes were found in the bacterial cells. The rate of CO(2) fixation above 112 nmol min(-1) (mg protein)(-1), an about 90% increase in the protein carbon at the expense of CO(2) carbon and an increase in the molar yield up to 12 mg dry weight (mmol oxidized thiosulfate)(-1) indicate the bacterial growth was autotrophic. Thiosulfate was oxidized by the strain almost completely into sulfate. The metabolically useful energy was conserved by oxidative phosphorylation that was coupled to oxidation of sulfur compounds. The bacterial membranes were found to contain CO-binding cytochromes b and two cytochromes c with M(r) 23 and 26 kDa, the terminal part of the respiratory chain containing presumably a cbb(3)-type oxidase. A cytochrome c with M(r) 12 kDa was detected in the soluble fraction.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Y Grabovich
- Vorenezh State University, Department of Plant Biochemistry and Physiology, Voronezh, Russia
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10
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Nielsen PH, de Muro MA, Nielsen JL. Studies on the in situ physiology of Thiothrix spp. present in activated sludge. Environ Microbiol 2000; 2:389-98. [PMID: 11234927 DOI: 10.1046/j.1462-2920.2000.00120.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 86] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The in situ physiology of the filamentous sulphur bacterium Thiothrix spp. was investigated in an industrial wastewater treatment plant with severe bulking problems as a result of overgrowth of Thiothrix. Identification and enumeration using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with species-specific 16S and 23S rRNA probes revealed that 5-10% of the bacteria in the activated sludge were Thiothrix spp. By using a combination of FISH and microautoradiography it was possible to study the in situ physiology of probe-defined Thiothrix filaments under different environmental conditions. The Thiothrix filaments were very versatile and showed incorporation of radiolabelled acetate and/or bicarbonate under heterotrophic, mixotrophic and chemolithoautotrophic conditions. The Thiothrix filaments were active under anaerobic conditions (with or without nitrate) in which intracellular sulphur globules were formed from thiosulphate and acetate was taken up. Thiothrix-specific substrate uptake rates and growth rates in activated sludge samples were determined under different conditions. Doubling times of 6-9 h under mixotrophic conditions and 15-30 h under autotrophic conditions were estimated. The key properties that Thiothrix might be employing to outcompete other microorganisms in activated sludge were probably related to the mixotrophic growth potential with strong stimulation of acetate uptake by thiosulphate, as well as stimulation of bicarbonate incorporation by acetate in the presence of thiosulphate.
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Affiliation(s)
- P H Nielsen
- Environmental Engineering Laboratory, Aalborg University, Denmark.
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12
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Gray ND, Howarth R, Pickup RW, Jones JG, Head IM. Substrate uptake by uncultured bacteria from the genus Achromatium determined by microautoradiography. Appl Environ Microbiol 1999; 65:5100-6. [PMID: 10543828 PMCID: PMC91686 DOI: 10.1128/aem.65.11.5100-5106.1999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Microautoradiography was used to investigate substrate uptake by natural communities of uncultured bacteria from the genus Achromatium. Studies of the uptake of (14)C-labelled substrates demonstrated that Achromatium cells from freshwater sediments were able to assimilate (14)C from bicarbonate, acetate, and protein hydrolysate; however, (14)C-labelled glucose was not assimilated. The pattern of substrate uptake by Achromatium spp. was therefore similar to those of a number of other freshwater and marine sulfur-oxidizing bacteria. Different patterns of radiolabelled bicarbonate uptake were noted for Achromatium communities from different geographical locations and indicated that one community (Rydal Water) possessed autotrophic potential, while the other (Hell Kettles) did not. Furthermore, the patterns of organic substrate uptake within a single population suggested that physiological diversity existed in natural communities of Achromatium. These observations are consistent with and may relate to the phylogenetic diversity observed in Achromatium communities. Incubation of Achromatium-bearing sediment cores from Rydal Water with (35)S-labelled sulfate in the presence and absence of sodium molybdate demonstrated that this bacterial population was capable of oxidizing sulfide to intracellular elemental sulfur. This finding supported the role of Achromatium in the oxidative component of a tightly coupled sulfur cycle in Rydal Water sediment. The oxidation of sulfide to sulfur and ultimately to sulfate by Achromatium cells from Rydal Water sediment is consistent with an ability to conserve energy from sulfide oxidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- N D Gray
- Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry Postgraduate Institute (NRG), University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU
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13
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Abstract
Mats consisting of the large sulfide-oxidizing bacterium, Beggiatoa, were collected from the sediment/water interface at several locations in the Gulf of Mexico. The collection sites were associated with the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons or the microbial breakdown products of the hydrocarbons. The morphologies of the mats varied with the nature of the underlying sediments, and some mats were pigmented either yellow or orange instead of the usual white. At one site, beggiatoas were found that had a diameter of nearly 200 mu m, making them the largest prokaryotic organism known. In filaments with a diameter of over approximately 10 mu m the cytoplasm was restricted to a thin layer immediately underlying the cell membrane, and the majority of the cell consisted of a vacuole with unknown contents. Beggiatoa filaments often rotated as they moved by gliding. Parallel rows of 15 nm diameter pores were found on the surface of the beggiatoas. The pores may have been wound in a spiral fashion around the cell. These pores may be involved in the gliding motility of the bacteria by the motion imparted by the excretion of slime through the pores. Several structures with the typical morphology of prokaryotic cells but lacking a cell wall were found within the vacuolar and cytoplasmic portions of the hollow beggiatoas. Some of these internal "symbionts" ultrastructurally resembled methanotrophic bacteria like those that have been seen in animals taken from vent areas. Other symbionts ultrastructurally resembled autotrophic bacteria with carboxysome-like structures. These internal symbionts may enable the Beggiatoa to grow in different environments on different carbon sources. They also provide important evidence for the endosymbiotic theory of the evolution of internal organelles of eukaryotic organisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Larkin
- Department of Microbiology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, 70803, USA
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14
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15
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Occurence and regulation of Calvin cycle enzymes in non-autotrophic Beggiatoa strains. Arch Microbiol 1988. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00444662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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17
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18
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Genthner FJ, Chatterjee P, Barkay T, Bourquin AW. Capacity of aquatic bacteria to act as recipients of plasmid DNA. Appl Environ Microbiol 1988; 54:115-7. [PMID: 3345074 PMCID: PMC202406 DOI: 10.1128/aem.54.1.115-117.1988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
A total of 68 gram-negative freshwater bacterial isolates were screened for their ability to receive and express plasmids from Pseudomonas aeruginosa donors. The plate mating technique identified 26 of the isolates as recipient active for the self-transmissible wide-host-range plasmid R68; 10 were recipient active by R68 mobilization for the wide-host-range plasmid cloning vector R1162. Frequencies of transfer were compared by using three conjugal transfer procedures: broth, plate, and filter mating. For every recipient tested, a solid environment was superior to a liquid environment for transfer. The broth mating technique failed to demonstrate R68 transfer in 63% of the recipient-active isolates. Filter mating, in general, yielded the highest transfer frequencies. The more-rapid plate mating procedure, however, was just as sensitive for testing the capacity of natural isolates to participate in conjugal plasmid transfer.
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Affiliation(s)
- F J Genthner
- Environmental Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Gulf Breeze, Florida 32561
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19
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Shively JM, Bryant DA, Fuller RC, Konopka AE, Stevens SE, Strohl WR. Functional inclusions in prokaryotic cells. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CYTOLOGY 1988; 113:35-100. [PMID: 3068183 DOI: 10.1016/s0074-7696(08)60846-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J M Shively
- Department of Biological Sciences, Clemson University, South Carolina 29634
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20
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Abstract
The metabolism of sulfide, sulfur, and acetate by Beggiatoa alba was investigated under oxic and anoxic conditions. B. alba oxidized acetate to carbon dioxide with the stoichiometric reduction of oxygen to water. In vivo acetate oxidation was suppressed by sulfide and by several classic respiratory inhibitors, including dibromothymoquinone, an inhibitor specific for ubiquinones. B. alba also carried out an oxygen-dependent conversion of sulfide to sulfur, a reaction that was inhibited by several electron transport inhibitors but not by dibromothymoquinone, indicating that the electrons released from sulfide oxidation were shuttled to oxygen without the involvement of ubiquinones. Intracellular sulfur stored by B. alba was not oxidized to sulfate or converted to an external soluble form under aerobic conditions. On the other hand, sulfur stored by filaments of Thiothrix nivea was oxidized to extracellular soluble oxidation products, including sulfate. Sulfur stored by filaments of B. alba, however, was reduced to sulfide under short-term anoxic conditions. This anaerobic reduction of sulfur was linked to the endogenous oxidation of stored carbon and to hydrogen oxidation.
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Affiliation(s)
- T M Schmidt
- Program of Environmental Biology, Ohio State University, Columbus 43210
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21
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Shively J, Devore W, Stratford L, Porter L, Medlin L, Stevens S. Molecular evolution of the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO). FEMS Microbiol Lett 1986. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1574-6968.1986.tb01804.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022] Open
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22
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Nelson DC, Jørgensen BB, Revsbech NP. Growth Pattern and Yield of a Chemoautotrophic
Beggiatoa
sp. in Oxygen-Sulfide Microgradients. Appl Environ Microbiol 1986; 52:225-33. [PMID: 16347121 PMCID: PMC203507 DOI: 10.1128/aem.52.2.225-233.1986] [Citation(s) in RCA: 109] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently developed techniques involving opposed, gel-stabilized gradients of O
2
and H
2
S permit cultivation of a marine
Beggiatoa
strain as a chemolithoautotroph which uses gliding motility to precisely track the interface between H
2
S and O
2
. In the current study with microelectrodes, vertical profiles of H
2
, O
2
, and pH were measured in replicate cultures grown for various intervals. After an initial period of exponential biomass increase (doubling time, 11 h), linear growth prevailed throughout much of the time course. This H
2
S-limited growth was followed by a transition to stationary phase when the declining H
2
S flux was sufficient only to supply maintenance energy. During late-exponential and linear growth phases, the
Beggiatoa
sp. consumed a constant 0.6 mol of H
2
S for each 1.0 mol of O
2
, the ratio anticipated for balanced lithoautotrophic growth at the expense of complete oxidation of H
2
S to SO
4
2−
. Over the entire range of conditions studied, this consumption ratio varied by approximately twofold. By measuring the extent to which the presence of the bacterial plate diminished the overlap of O
2
and H
2
S, we demonstrated that oxidation of H
2
S by
Beggiatoa
sp. is approximately 3 orders of magnitude faster than spontaneous chemical oxidation. By integrating sulfide profiles and comparing sulfide consumed with biomass produced, a growth yield of 8.4 g (dry weight) mol
−1
of H
2
S was computed. This is higher than that found for sulfide-grown thiobacilli, indicating very efficient growth of
Beggiatoa
sp. as a chemoautotroph. The methods used here offer a unique opportunity to determine the yield of H
2
S-oxidizing chemolithoautotrophs while avoiding several problems inherent in the use of homogeneous liquid culture. Finally, by monitoring time-dependent formation of H
2
S profiles under anoxic conditions, we demonstrate a method for calculating the molecular diffusion coefficient of soluble substrates in gel-stabilized media.
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Affiliation(s)
- D C Nelson
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, and Institute of Ecology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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Strohl WR, Schmidt TM, Vinci VA, Larkin JM. Electron transport and respiration in Beggiatoa and Vitreoscilla. Arch Microbiol 1986. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00413029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Schmidt TM, Vinci VA, Strohl WR. Protein synthesis by Beggiatoa alba B18LD in the presence and absence of sulfide. Arch Microbiol 1986. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00414727] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Genthner FJ, Hook LA, Strohl WR. Determination of the molecular mass of bacterial genomic DNA and plasmid copy number by high-pressure liquid chromatography. Appl Environ Microbiol 1985; 50:1007-13. [PMID: 4083871 PMCID: PMC291784 DOI: 10.1128/aem.50.4.1007-1013.1985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Relatively rapid methods for the determination of relative genome molecular mass (Mr) and the estimation of plasmid copy number have been developed. These methods are based on the ability of the Bio-Rad high-pressure liquid chromatography hydroxylapatite column to separate and quantify single-stranded DNA, double-stranded DNA, and plasmid DNA. Genome Mr values were calculated from reassociation kinetics of single-stranded DNA as measured with the hydroxylapatite column. Bacteriophage T4 DNA was used to establish a C0t (moles of nucleotides times seconds per liter), or standard reassociation value. From this C0t value, C0t values for Escherichia coli B, Beggiatoa alba B18LD, and Streptomyces coelicolor were determined by comparative calculations. From those calculated C0t values, the Mr values of 1.96 X 10(9) for E. coli, 2.02 X 10(9) for B. alba, and 3.28 X 10(9) for S. coelicolor were estimated. Plasmid concentration was determined from cleared lysates by comparing the integrated area under the phosphate buffer-eluted plasmid peak to values obtained with known amounts of plasmid. The plasmid copy number was estimated by multiplying the ratio between the amounts of plasmid and chromosomal DNA by the ratio between the Mr values of the chromosome and the plasmid. A copy number of 29 was obtained from a culture of E. coli HB101 harboring pBR322 grown to a culture density of 1.6 X 10(9) CFU . ml-1.
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26
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27
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Nutritional characteristics of two marine thioplocas determined by autoradiography. Arch Microbiol 1984. [DOI: 10.1007/bf00402003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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29
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Jørgensen BB, Revsbech NP. Colorless Sulfur Bacteria, Beggiatoa spp. and Thiovulum spp., in O(2) and H(2)S Microgradients. Appl Environ Microbiol 1983; 45:1261-70. [PMID: 16346268 PMCID: PMC242448 DOI: 10.1128/aem.45.4.1261-1270.1983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 226] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The interactions between colorless sulfur bacteria and the chemical microgradients at the oxygen-sulfide interface were studied in Beggiatoa mats from marine sediments and in Thiovulum veils developing above the sediments. The gradients of O(2), H(2)S, and pH were measured by microelectrodes at depth increments of 50 mum. An unstirred boundary layer in the water surrounding the mats and veils prevented microturbulent or convective mixing of O(2) and H(2)S. The two substrates reached the bacteria only by molecular diffusion through the boundary layer. The bacteria lived as microaerophiles or anaerobes even under stirred, oxic water. Oxygen and sulfide zones overlapped by 50 mum in the bacterial layers. Both compounds had concentrations in the range of 0 to 10 mumol liter and residence times of 0.1 to 0.6 s in the overlapping zone. The sulfide oxidation was purely biological. Diffusion calculations showed that formation of mats on solid substrates or of veils in the water represented optimal strategies for the bacteria to achieve a stable microenvironment, a high substrate supply, and an efficient competition with chemical sulfide oxidation. The continuous gliding movement of Beggiatoa cells in mats or the flickering motion of Thiovulum cells in veils were important for the availability of both O(2) and H(2)S for the individual bacteria.
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Affiliation(s)
- B B Jørgensen
- Institute of Ecology and Genetics, University of Aarhus, Ny Munkegade, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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31
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Minges CG, Titus JA, Strohl WR. Plasmid DNA in colorless filamentous gliding bacteria. Arch Microbiol 1983; 134:38-44. [PMID: 6307198 DOI: 10.1007/bf00429404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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32
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