Amino Acids Transport and Metabolism 2.0

Microbacterium horticulturae sp. nov., a novel actinobacterium isolated from flowerpot soil

Strain CJN36-1NT, a Gram-stain-positive, non-flagellated, strictly aerobic and short rod-shaped bacterium, was isolated from flowerpot soil sampled in the Jeonju region of the Republic of Korea. Based on 16S rRNA gene sequences and the resulting phylogenetic tree, the strain belonged to the genus Microbacterium. Strain CJN36-1NT contained a chromosome of 3.6 Mbp with a G+C content of 68.5 mol%. The strain grew at 10-37 °C (optimally at 28 °C), at pH 5.0-8.0 (optimally at pH 8.0), and in the presence of 0-7 % NaCl (w/v; optimally with 0 % NaCl). Digital DNA-DNA hybridization, average nucleotide identity and average amino acid identity values between strain CJN36-1NT and its closest related species, Microbacterium protaetiae DFW100M-13T, were 82.0, 81.2, and 23.2 %, respectively. We propose naming this novel species Microbacterium horticulturae sp. nov., with CJN36-1NT (=KACC 23027T=NBRC 116065T) as the type strain.

Genome-Wide Identification and Functional Analysis of Lysine Histidine Transporter (LHT) Gene Families in Maize

Amino acid transporters (AATs) are essential membrane proteins that transfer amino acids across cells. They are necessary for plant growth and development. The lysine histidine transporter (LHT) gene family in maize (Zea mays) has not yet been characterized. According to sequence composition and phylogenetic placement, this study found 15 LHT genes in the maize genome. The ZmLHT genes are scattered across the plasma membrane. The study also analyzed the evolutionary relationships, gene structures, conserved motifs, 3D protein structure, a transmembrane domain, and gene expression of the 15 LHT genes in maize. Comprehensive analyses of ZmLHT gene expression profiles revealed distinct expression patterns in maize LHT genes in various tissues. This study's extensive data will serve as a foundation for future ZmLHT gene family research. This study might make easier to understand how LHT genes work in maize and other crops.

Genome-Wide Analysis of AAT Genes and Their Expression Profiling during Fiber Development in Cotton

Amino acid transporters (AATs) are a kind of membrane proteins that mediate the transport of amino acids across cell membranes in higher plants. The AAT proteins are involved in regulating plant cell growth and various developmental processes. However, the biological function of this gene family in cotton fiber development is not clear. In this study, 190, 190, 101, and 94 full-length AAT genes were identified from Gossypiumhirsutum, G. barbadense, G. arboreum, and G. raimondii. A total of 575 AAT genes from the four cotton species were divided into two subfamilies and 12 clades based on phylogenetic analysis. The AAT genes in the four cotton species were distributed on all the chromosomes. All GhAAT genes contain multiple exons, and each GhAAT protein has multiple conserved motifs. Transcriptional profiling and RT qPCR analysis showed that four GhATT genes tend to express specifically at the fiber initiation stage. Eight genes tend to express specifically at the fiber elongation and maturity stage, and four genes tend to express specifically at the fiber initiation and elongation stages. Our results provide a solid basis for further elucidating the biological function of AAT genes related to cotton fiber development and offer valuable genetic resources for crop improvement in the future.

Halobellus ruber sp. nov., a deep red-pigmented extremely halophilic archaeon isolated from a Korean solar saltern

A novel halophilic archaeon, strain MBLA0160^T, was isolated from a solar saltern in Sorae, Republic of Korea. The cells are deep-red pigmented, Gram-negative, rod shaped, motile, and lysed in distilled water. The strain MBLA0160^T grew at 25-45 °C (optimum 37 °C), in 15-30% (w/v) NaCl (optimum 20%) and 0.1-1.0 M MgCl₂ (optimum 0.3-0.5 M) at pH 5.0-9.0 (optimum 7.0). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA sequence showed that this strain was related to two species within the genus Halobellus (Hbs.), with 98.4% and 95.8% similarity to Hbs. salinus CSW2.24.4 ^T and Hbs. clavatus TNN18^T, respectively. The major polar lipids of the strain MBLA160^T were phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol sulfate, and phosphatidylglycerol phosphate methyl ester. The genome size, G + C content, and N50 value of MBLA0160^T were 3.49 Mb, 66.5 mol%, and 620,127 bp, respectively. According to predicted functional proteins of strain MBLA0160^T, the highest category was amino acid transport and metabolism. Genome rapid annotation showed that amino acid and derivatives was the most subsystem feature counts. Pan-genomic analysis showed that strain MBLA0160^T had 97 annotated unique KEGG, which were mainly included metabolism and environmental information processing. Ortholog average nucleotide identities (OrthoANI) and in silico DNA-DNA hybridization (isDDH) values between the strain MBLA0160^T and other strains of the genus Halobellus were under 84,4% and 28.1%, respectively. The genome of strain MBLA0160^T also contain the biosynthetic gene cluster for C₅₀ carotenoid as secondary metabolite. Based on the phylogenetic, phenotypic, chemotaxonomic properties, and comparative genomic analyses, strain MBLA0160^T is considered to represent a novel species of the genus Halobellus, for which the name Halobellus ruber sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MBLA0160^T (= KCTC 4291 ^T = JCM 34172 ^T).