RESUMO
Conspicuous egg-shaped, white, and smooth structures were observed at a hydrothermal vent site in the Guaymas Basin, Gulf of California. The gelatinous structures decomposed within hours after sampling. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and light microscopy showed that the structure consisted of filaments of less than 0.1 µm thickness, similar to those observed for "Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus." SEM-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) showed that the filaments were sulfur rich. According to 16S rRNA gene amplicon and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analyses, Arcobacter, a sulfide oxidizer that is known to produce filamentous elemental sulfur, was among the dominant species in the structure and was likely responsible for its formation. Arcobacter normally produces woolly snowflake like structures in opposed gradients of sulfide and oxygen. In the laboratory, we observed sulfide consumption in the anoxic zone of the structure, suggesting an anaerobic conversion. The sulfide oxidation and decomposition of the structure in the laboratory may be explained by dissolution of the sulfur filaments by reaction with sulfide under formation of polysulfides. IMPORTANCE At the deep-sea Guaymas Basin hydrothermal vent system, sulfide-rich hydrothermal fluids mix with oxygenated seawater, thereby providing a habitat for microbial sulfur oxidation. Microbial sulfur oxidation in the deep sea involves a variety of organisms and processes and can result in the excretion of elemental sulfur. Here, we report on conspicuous white and smooth gelatinous structures found on hot vents. These strange egg-shaped structures were often observed on previous occasions in the Guaymas Basin, but their composition and formation process were unknown. Our data suggest that the notable and highly ephemeral structure was likely formed by the well-known sulfide-oxidizing Arcobacter. While normally Arcobacter produces loose flocs or woolly layers, here smooth gel-like structures were found.
Assuntos
Arcobacter/classificação , Arcobacter/metabolismo , Fontes Hidrotermais/microbiologia , Sulfetos/metabolismo , Enxofre/metabolismo , Anaerobiose/fisiologia , Arcobacter/genética , Hibridização in Situ Fluorescente , México , Oceanos e Mares , Oxirredução , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , Água do Mar/químicaRESUMO
Members of the epsilonproteobacterial genus Arcobacter have been identified to be potentially important sulfide oxidizers in marine coastal, seep, and stratified basin environments. In the highly productive upwelling waters off the coast of Peru, Arcobacter cells comprised 3 to 25% of the total microbial community at a near-shore station where sulfide concentrations exceeded 20 µM in bottom waters. From the chemocline where the Arcobacter population exceeded 106 cells ml-1 and where high rates of denitrification (up to 6.5 ± 0.4 µM N day-1) and dark carbon fixation (2.8 ± 0.2 µM C day-1) were measured, we isolated a previously uncultivated Arcobacter species, Arcobacter peruensis sp. nov. (BCCM LMG-31510). Genomic analysis showed that A. peruensis possesses genes encoding sulfide oxidation and denitrification pathways but lacks the ability to fix CO2 via autotrophic carbon fixation pathways. Genes encoding transporters for organic carbon compounds, however, were present in the A. peruensis genome. Physiological experiments demonstrated that A. peruensis grew best on a mix of sulfide, nitrate, and acetate. Isotope labeling experiments further verified that A. peruensis completely reduced nitrate to N2 and assimilated acetate but did not fix CO2, thus coupling heterotrophic growth to sulfide oxidation and denitrification. Single-cell nanoscale secondary ion mass spectrometry analysis of samples taken from shipboard isotope labeling experiments also confirmed that the Arcobacter population in situ did not substantially fix CO2 The efficient growth yield associated with the chemolithoheterotrophic metabolism of A. peruensis may allow this Arcobacter species to rapidly bloom in eutrophic and sulfide-rich waters off the coast of Peru.IMPORTANCE Our multidisciplinary approach provides new insights into the ecophysiology of a newly isolated environmental Arcobacter species, as well as the physiological flexibility within the Arcobacter genus and sulfide-oxidizing, denitrifying microbial communities within oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZs). The chemolithoheterotrophic species Arcobacter peruensis may play a substantial role in the diverse consortium of bacteria that is capable of coupling denitrification and fixed nitrogen loss to sulfide oxidation in eutrophic, sulfidic coastal waters. With increasing anthropogenic pressures on coastal regions, e.g., eutrophication and deoxygenation (D. Breitburg, L. A. Levin, A. Oschlies, M. Grégoire, et al., Science 359:eaam7240, 2018, https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam7240), niches where sulfide-oxidizing, denitrifying heterotrophs such as A. peruensis thrive are likely to expand.
Assuntos
Arcobacter/isolamento & purificação , Arcobacter/metabolismo , Sedimentos Geológicos/microbiologia , Processos Heterotróficos/fisiologia , Água do Mar/microbiologia , Sulfetos/metabolismo , Arcobacter/genética , Arcobacter/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Biomassa , Carbono/metabolismo , Ciclo do Carbono , Desnitrificação , Marcação por Isótopo , Nitratos/metabolismo , Fixação de Nitrogênio , Oxirredução , Oxigênio/metabolismo , Peru , RNA Ribossômico 16S/genética , RNA Ribossômico 16S/isolamento & purificação , Água/química , Microbiologia da Água , Sequenciamento Completo do GenomaRESUMO
The X-ray structure of the bacterial voltage-gated sodium channel NavAb has been reported in a conformation with a closed conduction pore. Comparison between this structure and the activated-open and resting-closed structures of the voltage-gated Kv1.2 potassium channel suggests that the voltage-sensor domains (VSDs) of the reported structure are not fully activated. Using the aforementioned structures of Kv1.2 as templates, molecular dynamics simulations are used to identify analogous functional conformations of NavAb. Specifically, starting from the NavAb crystal structure, conformations of the membrane-bound channel are sampled along likely pathways for activation of the VSD and opening of the pore domain. Gating charge computations suggest that a structural rearrangement comparable to that occurring between activated-open and resting-closed states is required to explain experimental values of the gating charge, thereby confirming that the reported VSD structure is likely an intermediate along the channel activation pathway. Our observation that the X-ray structure exhibits a low pore domain-opening propensity further supports this notion. The present molecular dynamics study also identifies conformations of NavAb that are seemingly related to the resting-closed and activated-open states. Our findings are consistent with recent structural and functional studies of the orthologous channels NavRh, NaChBac, and NavMs and offer possible structures for the functionally relevant conformations of NavAb.
Assuntos
Arcobacter/metabolismo , Proteínas de Bactérias/química , Simulação de Dinâmica Molecular , Canais de Potássio de Abertura Dependente da Tensão da Membrana/química , Ativação do Canal Iônico , Estrutura Terciária de ProteínaRESUMO
A study employing a polyphasic taxonomic approach was undertaken to clarify the position of 12 isolates recovered from sewage samples. These isolates were recognized as a potential novel species because a new and specific pattern was produced with the 16S rRNA-RFLP Arcobacter identification method. The sequences of the 16S rRNA gene not only supported the classification of these novel strains as members of the genus Arcobacter, but also showed that they formed a separate phylogenetic line. Strain SW28-11(T), chosen as the representative of these strains, showed 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity of 95.6â% with the closest related species Arcobacter nitrofigilis. The phylogenetic position of the novel strains was further confirmed by analysis of the housekeeping genes hsp60, rpoB and, for the first time, gyrB. The latter proved to be an excellent additional gene for establishing the phylogeny of this genus. These data, together with phenotypic characterization, revealed that this group of isolates represent a novel species of the genus Arcobacter. The name Arcobacter defluvii sp. nov., is proposed, with the type strain SW28-11(T) (â=âCECT 7697(T)â=âLMG 25694(T)).