Publications

4470

ABSTRACT We report the 4.55-Mbp genome of “ Candidatus Fluviicola riflensis” ( Bacteroidetes ) that was manually curated to completion from Illumina data. “ Ca . Fluviicola riflensis” is a facultative anaerobe. Its ability to grow over a range of O 2 levels may favor its proliferation in an aquifer adjacent to the Colorado River in the United States.

ABSTRACT The high-quality draft genome of “ Candidatus Methanoperedens sp.” strain BLZ2, a nitrate-reducing archaeon anaerobically oxidizing methane, is presented. The genome was obtained from an enrichment culture and measures 3.74 Mb. It harbors two nitrate reductase gene clusters, an ammonium-forming nitrite reductase, and the complete reverse methanogenesis pathway. Methane that escapes to the atmosphere acts as a potent greenhouse gas. Global methane emissions are mitigated by methanotrophs, which oxidize methane to CO 2 . “ Candidatus Methanoperedens spp.” are unique methanotrophic archaea that can perform nitrate-dependent anaerobic oxidation of methane. A high-quality draft genome sequence of only 85 contigs from this archaeon is presented here.

AbstractCultivation of microbial consortia provides low-complexity communities that can serve as tractable models to understand community dynamics. Time-resolved metagenomics demonstrated that an aerobic cellulolytic consortium cultivated from compost exhibited community dynamics consistent with the definition of an endogenous heterotrophic succession. The genome of the proposed pioneer population, ‘Candidatus Reconcilibacillus cellulovorans’, possessed a gene cluster containing multidomain glycoside hydrolases (GHs). Purification of the soluble cellulase activity from a 300litre cultivation of this consortium revealed that ~70% of the activity arose from the ‘Ca. Reconcilibacillus cellulovorans’ multidomain GHs assembled into cellulase complexes through glycosylation. These remarkably stable complexes have supramolecular structures for enzymatic cellulose hydrolysis that are distinct from cellulosomes. The persistence of these complexes during cultivation indicates that they may be active through multiple cultivations of this consortium and act as public goods that sustain the community. The provision of extracellular GHs as public goods may influence microbial community dynamics in native biomass-deconstructing communities relevant to agriculture, human health and biotechnology.

Nitrospira -like bacteria are among the most diverse and widespread nitrifiers in natural ecosystems and the dominant nitrite oxidizers in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The recent discovery of comammox-like Nitrospira strains, capable of complete oxidation of ammonia to nitrate, raises new questions about specific traits responsible for the functional versatility and adaptation of this genus to a variety of environments. The availability of new Nitrospira genome sequences from both nitrite-oxidizing and comammox bacteria offers a way to analyze traits in different Nitrospira functional groups. Our comparative genomics analysis provided new insights into the adaptation of Nitrospira strains to specific lifestyles and environmental niches.