Publications

4366

Peptidoglycan (PG) is essential for bacterial survival and maintaining cell shape. The rod-shaped model bacterium Escherichia coli has a set of seven endopeptidases that remodel the PG during cell growth. The gamma proteobacterium Candidatus Thiosymbion oneisti is also rod-shaped and attaches to the cuticle of its nematode host by one pole. It widens and divides by longitudinal fission using the canonical proteins MreB and FtsZ. The PG layer of Ca. T. oneisti has an unusually high peptide cross-linkage of 67% but relatively short glycan chains with an average length of 12 disaccharides. Curiously, it has only two predicted endopeptidases, MepA and PBP4. Cellular localization of symbiont PBP4 by fluorescently labeled antibodies reveals its polar localization and its accumulation at the constriction sites, suggesting that PBP4 is involved in PG biosynthesis during septum formation. Isolated symbiont PBP4 protein shows a different selectivity for β-lactams compared to its homologue from E. coli. Bocillin-FL binding by PBP4 is activated by some β-lactams, suggesting the presence of an allosteric binding site. Overall, our data point to a role of PBP4 in PG cleavage during the longitudinal cell division and to a PG that might have been adapted to the symbiotic lifestyle.

Abstract BackgroundArchaea were originally discovered in extreme environments, and thrive in many extreme habitats including soda lakes with high pH and salinity. Characteristic and diverse archaeal community played a significant role in biogeochemical cycles; however, the archaeal community and their functions are still less-studied in the intricate sediment of soda lakes. ResultsIn this article, the archaeal community of the deep sediment (40-50 cm depth) of five artificially-separated ponds with a salinity range from 7.0% to 33.0% in a soda saline lake was systematically surveyed using culture-independent metagenomics combined with the next-generation sequencing of the archaeal 16S rRNA amplicons. Nine archaeal phyla were detected, which accounted for 2.2% to 35.73% of microbial community in the five deep sediments. Besides the well-known class Halobacteria, one novel archaeal order (Candidatus Natranaeroarchaeales) of the class Thermoplasmata was even more abundant than Halobacteria in some deep sediment samples. Of 69 dereplicated archaeal metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), 30 MAGs belonged to Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales. Different genera of the Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales preferred to inhabit in the different salinities, and the divergent halophilic adaptation strategies (salt-out or salt-in) suggested the fast evolution adaptation within this lineage. Most high-quality MAGs had the genes of Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, organic acid fermentation and sulfur respiration, suggesting the putative functions in carbon fixation and sulfur reduction. Interestingly, heterodisulfide reductase and F420-non-reducing hydrogenase complex HdrABC-MvhADG were widely distributed in Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales and may play the core roles in energy metabolism from hydrogen. The regeneration of CoM-S-S-CoB was coupled to succinate or 2-oxoglutarate production in Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales instead of methanogenesis in the close related Methanomassiliicoccales. It suggested that methyl-coenzyme M reductase in Methanomassiliicoccales may be laterally transferred from other methanogens. ConclusionA novel archaeal order Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales of Thermoplasmata was found by culture-independent approaches. This order was the most abundant archaeal lineage in the deep sediment of soda lakes, with the characteristic environmental adaptation and biogeochemical potentials in carbon fixation and sulfur reduction. The difference in fermentation products coupled to energy metabolism between methanogens and Ca. Natranaeroarchaeales provided additional insights into the origination of methanogenesis in Thermoplasmata from the energy metabolism perspective.

Summary Members of the bacterial order Rickettsiales are obligatorily associated with a wide range of eukaryotic hosts. Their evolutionary trajectories, in particular concerning the origin of shared or differential traits among distant sub‐lineages, are still poorly understood. Here, we characterized a novel Rickettsiales bacterium associated with the ciliate Paramecium tredecaurelia and phylogenetically related to the Rickettsia genus. Its genome encodes significant lineage‐specific features, chiefly the mevalonate pathway gene repertoire, involved in isoprenoid precursor biosynthesis. Not only this pathway has never been described in Rickettsiales , it also is very rare among bacteria, though typical in eukaryotes, thus likely representing a horizontally acquired trait. The presence of these genes could enable an efficient exploitation of host‐derived intermediates for isoprenoid synthesis. Moreover, we hypothesize the reversed reactions could have replaced canonical pathways for producing acetyl‐CoA, essential for phospholipid biosynthesis. Additionally, we detected phylogenetically unrelated mevalonate pathway genes in metagenome‐derived Rickettsiales sequences, likely indicating evolutionary convergent effects of independent horizontal gene transfer events. Accordingly, convergence, involving both gene acquisitions and losses, is highlighted as a relevant evolutionary phenomenon in Rickettsiales , possibly favoured by plasticity and comparable lifestyles, representing a potentially hidden origin of other more nuanced similarities among sub‐lineages.

Summary ‘ Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ (CLas) is a phloem‐limited non‐culturable α‐proteobacterium associated with citrus Huanglongbing, a highly destructive disease threatening global citrus industry. Research on CLas is challenging due to the current inability to culture CLas in vitro and the low CLas titre in citrus plant. Here, we develop a CLas enrichment system using the holoparasitic dodder plant ( Cuscuta campestris ) as an amenable host to acquire and enrich CLas from CLas‐infected citrus shoots maintained hydroponically. Forty‐eight out of fifty‐five (87%) dodder plants successfully parasitized CLas‐infected citrus shoots with detectable CLas by PCR. Among 48 dodders cultures, 30 showed two‐ to 419‐fold CLas titre increase as compared to the corresponding citrus hosts. The CLas population rapidly increased and reached the highest level in dodder tendrils at 15 days after parasitizing citrus shoot. Genome sequencing and assembly derived from CLas‐enriched dodder DNA samples generated a higher resolution than those obtained for CLas from citrus hosts. No genomic variation was detected in CLas after transmission from citrus to dodder during short‐term parasitism. Dual RNA‐Seq experiments showed similar CLas gene expression profiles in dodder and citrus samples, yet dodder samples generated a higher resolution of CLas transcriptome data. The ability of dodder to support CLas multiplication to high levels, as well as its advantage in CLas genomic and transcriptomic analyses, make it an optimal model for further studies on CLas–host interaction.