Publications

4422

Summary Studies were conducted in opposing gradients of oxygen and sulfide in microslide capillaries to (i) characterize the chemical microenvironment preferred by Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus, a highly motile, sulfur‐oxidizing bacterium that produces sulfur in filamentous form, and (ii) to develop a model describing the mechanism of filamentous‐sulfur formation. The highly motile microorganisms are microaerophilic, with swarms effectively aggregating within oxic‐anoxic interfaces by exhibiting a chemotactic response. The position of the band was found to be largely independent of the sulfide concentration as it always formed at the oxic‐anoxic interface. Flux calculations based on steady state gradients of oxygen and sulfide indicate that sulfide is incompletely oxidized to sulfur, in line with the formation of filamentous sulfur by these organisms. It is proposed that Candidatus Arcobacter sulfidicus effectively competes with other sulfur‐oxidizing bacteria in the environment by being able to tolerate higher concentrations of hydrogen sulfide (1–2 mM) and by possessing the ability to grow at very low oxygen concentrations (1–10 μM). The formation of mat‐like structures from filamentous sulfur appears to be a population mediated effort allowing these organisms to effectively colonize environments characterized by high sulfide, low oxygen and dynamic fluid movement.

Summary Accumulating evidence supports a role for Chlamydia ‐related organisms as emerging pathogens for human and animals. Assessment of their pathogenicity requires strain availability, at least for animal models and serological studies. As these obligate intracellular species are able to grow inside amoebae, we used co‐culture with Acanthamoeba castellanii in an attempt to recover new Chlamydia ‐related species from river water. We isolated two strains from eight water samples. The first strain is a new Parachlamydia acanthamoebae strain that differs from previously described isolates by only two bases in the complete 16S rRNA gene sequence. The second isolate is the first representative of a new Chlamydiales family, as demonstrated by genetic and phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA, 23S rRNA, ADP/ATP translocase and RnpB encoding genes. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization and electron microscopy, we demonstrated that it grows in high numbers in amoebae, where it exhibits a Chlamydia ‐like developmental cycle with reticulate bodies and star‐like elementary bodies. Based on these results, we propose to name this new species ‘ Criblamydia sequanensis ’. This work confirmed that amoebal co‐culture is a relevant method to isolate new chlamydiae, and that it can be successfully applied to ecosystems colonized with a complex microbial community.