Metagenomic and chemical characterization of soil cobalamin production.

ABSTRACT: Cobalamin (vitamin B₁₂) is an essential enzyme cofactor for most branches of life. Despite the potential importance of this cofactor for soil microbial communities, the producers and consumers of cobalamin in terrestrial environments are still unknown. Here we provide the first metagenome-based assessment of soil cobalamin-producing bacteria and archaea, quantifying and classifying genes encoding proteins for cobalamin biosynthesis, transport, remodeling, and dependency in 155 soil metagenomes with profile hidden Markov models. We also measured several forms of cobalamin (CN-, Me-, OH-, Ado-B₁₂) and the cobalamin lower ligand (5,6-dimethylbenzimidazole; DMB) in 40 diverse soil samples. Metagenomic analysis revealed that less than 10% of soil bacteria and archaea encod

SUBMITTER: Lu X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6908642 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature