Project description:Strains of the genus Bradyrhizobium associated with agronomically important crops such as soybean (Glycine max) are increasingly studied; however, information about symbionts of wild Glycine species is scarce. Australia is a genetic centre of wild Glycine species and we performed a polyphasic analysis of three Bradyrhizobium strains-CNPSo 4010T, CNPSo 4016T, and CNPSo 4019T-trapped from Western Australian soils with Glycine clandestina, Glycine tabacina and Glycine max, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of the 16S rRNA gene clustered all strains into the Bradyrhizobium japonicum superclade; strains CNPSo 4010T and CNPSo 4016T had Bradyrhizobium yuanmingense CCBAU 10071T as the closest species, whereas strain CNPSo 4019T was closer to Bradyrhizobium liaoningense LMG 18230T. The multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) with five housekeeping genes-dnaK, glnII, gyrB, recA and rpoB-confirmed the same clusters as the 16S rRNA phylogeny, but indicated low similarity to described species, with nucleotide identities ranging from 93.6 to 97.6% of similarity. Considering the genomes of the three strains, the average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization values were lower than 94.97 and 59.80 %, respectively, with the closest species. In the nodC phylogeny, strains CNPSo 4010T and CNPSo 4019T grouped with Bradyrhizobium zhanjiangense and Bradyrhizobium ganzhouense, respectively, while strain CNPSo 4016T was positioned separately from the all symbiotic Bradyrhizobium species. Other genomic (BOX-PCR), phenotypic and symbiotic properties were evaluated and corroborated with the description of three new lineages of Bradyrhizobium. We propose the names of Bradyrhizobium agreste sp. nov. for CNPSo 4010T (=WSM 4802T=LMG 31645T) isolated from Glycine clandestina, Bradyrhizobium glycinis sp. nov. for CNPSo 4016T (=WSM 4801T=LMG 31649T) isolated from Glycine tabacina and Bradyrhizobium diversitatis sp. nov. for CNPSo 4019T (=WSM 4799T=LMG 31650T) isolated from G. max.
Project description:Acetate is a simple carboxylic acid that is synthesized in various microorganisms. Although acetate toxicity and tolerance have been studied in many microorganisms, little is known about the effects of exogenous acetate on the cell growth of acetogenic bacteria. In this study, we report the phenotypic changes that occurred in the acetogenic bacterium Clostridium sp. AWRP as a result of an adaptive laboratory evolution under acetate challenge. When compared with the wild-type strain, the acetate-adapted strain displayed a tolerance to acetate up to 10 g L-1 and higher biomass yields in batch cultures, although the metabolite profiles greatly varied depending on culture conditions. Interestingly, genome sequencing revealed that the adapted strain harbored three point mutations in the genes encoding an electron-bifurcating hydrogenase, which is crucial to its autotrophic growth on CO2 + H2, in addition to one in the dnaK gene. Transcriptome analysis revealed the global change in the gene expression profile of the acetate-adapted strain. Strikingly, most genes involved in CO2-fixing Wood-Ljungdahl pathway and auxiliary pathways for energy conservation (e.g., Rnf complex, Nfn, etc.) were significantly down-regulated. In addition, we observed that a couple of metabolic pathways associated with dissimilation of nucleosides and carbohydrates were significantly up-regulated in the acetate-adapted strain as well as several amino acid biosynthetic pathways, indicating that the strain might increase its fitness by utilizing organic substrates in response to the down-regulation of carbon fixation. Further investigation into the carbon fixation degeneration of the acetate-adapted strain will provide practical implications in CO2 + H2 fermentation using acetogenic bacteria for long-term continuous fermentation. The transcriptome profiles of the wild-type Clostridium sp. AWRP and its acetate-tolerant derivative 46T-a were compared.
Project description:Rhizoremediation, the biotechnology of the utilization of rhizospheric microorganisms associated with plant roots for the elimination of soil contaminants, is based on the ability of microorganisms to metabolize nutrients from plant root exudates, in order to survive the stressful conditions of the rhizosphere, and thereby, to co-metabolize or even mineralize toxic environmental contaminants. Novosphingobium sp. HR1a is a bacterial strain able to degrade a wide variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). We have demonstrated that this bacterium is able to grow in vegetated microcosms and to eliminate phenanthrene in the presence of clover faster than in non-vegetated systems, establishing a positive interaction with clover. We have studied the molecular basis of this interaction by phenomic, metabolomic and transcriptomic analyses, demonstrating that the positive interaction between clover and Novosphingobium sp. HR1a is a result of the bacterial utilization of different carbon and nitrogen sources (such as sugars, amino acids and organic acids) released during seedling development, and the capacity of exudates to induce the PAH degradation pathway. These results are pointing out to Novosphingobium sp. HR1a as a promising strain for the bioremediation of PAH-contaminated soils.
Project description:Hexahydro-1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) is a persistent nitramine explosive with long-lasting properties. Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22 has been discovered as one of the microorganisms capable of RDX degradation. Despite respectable studies on Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22, the proteins participating in RDX degradation (Oxidoreductase and Cytochrome P450) in the strain remain to be fragments. In this study, complete genome of Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22 was sequenced and analyzed, and the entire sequences of the two genes encoding Oxidoreductase and Cytochrome P450 in Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22 were predicted, which were validated through proteomic data. Besides, despite the identification of certain chemical substances as proposed characterized degradation intermediates of RDX, few studies have investigated the physiological changes and metabolic pathways occurring within Rhodococcus sp. cells when treated with RDX, particularly through the use of mass spectrometry-based omics. Hence, proteomics and metabolomics of Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22 were performed and analyzed with the presence or absence of RDX in the medium. A total of 3186 protein groups were identified and quantified between the two groups, with 117 proteins being significantly differentially expressed proteins. A total of 1056 metabolites were identified after merging positive and negative ion modes, among which 131 metabolites were significantly differential. Through the combined analysis of differential proteomics and metabolomics, several KEGG pathways, including two-component system, ABC transporters, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, arginine biosynthesis, purine metabolism, nitrogen metabolism, and phosphotransferase system (PTS) were found to be significantly enriched. We expect that our investigation will expand the acquaintance of Rhodococcus sp. strain DN22, and the knowledge of microbial degradation.
Project description:The advances of next-generation sequencing technologies enabled the continuous growth in the number of gene sequences deposited into the CAZy database, meanwhile, the number of biochemically characterized CAZymes is growing at a much slower rate. The biochemical characterization of discovered enzymes is important because of the industrially relevant properties such as high thermal stability or cold-adaptivity that these enzymes may possess. The aim of our project is to screen for up-to-date biochemically uncharacterized CAZymes. We screen for microorganisms that are able to produce extracellular CAZymes. We use LC-MSMS proteomics to identify extracellular enzymes produced by the selected microorganisms.