Publications

4369

Summary Biocathode microbial communities are proposed to catalyse a range of useful reactions. Unlike bioanodes, model biocathode organisms have not yet been successfully cultivated in isolation highlighting the need for culture‐independent approaches to characterization. Biocathode MCL ( Marinobacter , Chromatiaceae , Labrenzia ) is a microbial community proposed to couple CO 2 fixation to extracellular electron transfer and O 2 reduction. Previous metagenomic analysis of a single MCL bioelectrochemical system ( BES ) resulted in resolution of 16 bin genomes. To further resolve bin genomes and compare community composition across replicate MCL BES , we performed shotgun metagenomic and 16S rRNA gene (16S) sequencing at steady‐state current. Clustering pooled reads from replicate BES increased the number of resolved bin genomes to 20, over half of which were > 90% complete. Direct comparison of unassembled metagenomic reads and 16S operational taxonomic units ( OTU s) predicted higher community diversity than the assembled/clustered metagenome and the predicted relative abundances did not match. However, when 16S OTU s were mapped to bin genomes and genome abundance was scaled by 16S gene copy number, estimated relative abundance was more similar to metagenomic analysis. The relative abundance of the bin genome representing ‘ Ca . Tenderia electrophaga’ was correlated with increasing current, further supporting the hypothesis that this organism is the electroautotroph.

ABSTRACT Protective symbiosis has been reported in many organisms, but the molecular mechanisms of the mutualistic interactions between the symbionts and their hosts are unclear. Here, we sequenced the 424-kbp genome of “ Candidatus Spiroplasma holothuricola,” which dominated the hindgut microbiome of a sea cucumber, a major scavenger captured in the Mariana Trench (6,140 m depth). Phylogenetic relationships indicated that the dominant bacterium in the hindgut was derived from a basal group of Spiroplasma species. In this organism, the genes responsible for the biosynthesis of amino acids, glycolysis, and sugar transporters were lost, strongly suggesting endosymbiosis. The highly decayed genome consists of two chromosomes and harbors genes coding for proteolysis, microbial toxin, restriction-methylation systems, and clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs), composed of three cas genes and 76 CRISPR spacers. The holothurian host is probably protected against invading viruses from sediments by the CRISPRs/Cas and restriction systems of the endosymbiotic spiroplasma. The protective endosymbiosis indicates the important ecological role of the ancient Spiroplasma symbiont in the maintenance of hadal ecosystems. IMPORTANCE Sea cucumbers are major inhabitants in hadal trenches. They collect microbes in surface sediment and remain tolerant against potential pathogenic bacteria and viruses. This study presents the genome of endosymbiotic spiroplasmas in the gut of a sea cucumber captured in the Mariana Trench. The extreme reduction of the genome and loss of essential metabolic pathways strongly support its endosymbiotic lifestyle. Moreover, a considerable part of the genome was occupied by a CRISPR/Cas system to provide immunity against viruses and antimicrobial toxin-encoding genes for the degradation of microbes. This novel species of Spiroplasma is probably an important protective symbiont for the sea cucumbers in the hadal zone.