Global Biogeographic Distribution Patterns of Thermoacidophilic Verrucomicrobia Methanotrophs Suggest Allopatric Evolution.

ABSTRACT: Thermoacidophilic methane-oxidizing Verrucomicrobia of the candidate genus Methylacidiphilum represent a bacterial taxon adapted to highly acidic (pH 1-4) and moderate temperature (∼65°C) methane-containing geothermal environments. Their apparent ubiquity in acidic terrestrial volcanic areas makes them ideal model organisms to study prokaryotic biogeography. Three Methylacidiphilum species isolated from distantly-separated geothermal regions in Russia, New Zealand, and Italy were previously described. We have explored the intra-taxon phylogenetic patterns of these organisms based on comparative genome analyses and phenotypic comparisons with six new Verrucomicrobia methanotroph isolates from other globally-separated acidic geothermal locations. Comparison of rRNA and particul

SUBMITTER: Erikstad HA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6549252 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature