Herbold, Craig

ABSTRACT Nitrification is a key process of the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and of biological wastewater treatment. The second step, nitrite oxidation to nitrate, is catalyzed by phylogenetically diverse, chemolithoautotrophic nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB). Uncultured NOB from the genus “ Candidatus Nitrotoga” are widespread in natural and engineered ecosystems. Knowledge about their biology is sparse, because no genomic information and no pure “ Ca . Nitrotoga” culture was available. Here we obtained the first “ Ca . Nitrotoga” isolate from activated sludge. This organism, “ Candidatus Nitrotoga fabula,” prefers higher temperatures (>20°C; optimum, 24 to 28°C) than previous “ Ca . Nitrotoga” enrichments, which were described as cold-adapted NOB. “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” also showed an unusually high tolerance to nitrite (activity at 30 mM NO 2 − ) and nitrate (up to 25 mM NO 3 − ). Nitrite oxidation followed Michaelis-Menten kinetics, with an apparent K m ( K m (app) ) of ~89 µM nitrite and a V max of ~28 µmol of nitrite per mg of protein per h. Key metabolic pathways of “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” were reconstructed from the closed genome. “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” possesses a new type of periplasmic nitrite oxidoreductase belonging to a lineage of mostly uncharacterized proteins. This novel enzyme indicates (i) separate evolution of nitrite oxidation in “ Ca . Nitrotoga” and other NOB, (ii) the possible existence of phylogenetically diverse, unrecognized NOB, and (iii) together with new metagenomic data, the potential existence of nitrite-oxidizing archaea. For carbon fixation, “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” uses the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle. It also carries genes encoding complete pathways for hydrogen and sulfite oxidation, suggesting that alternative energy metabolisms enable “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” to survive nitrite depletion and colonize new niches. IMPORTANCE Nitrite-oxidizing bacteria (NOB) are major players in the biogeochemical nitrogen cycle and critical for wastewater treatment. However, most NOB remain uncultured, and their biology is poorly understood. Here, we obtained the first isolate from the environmentally widespread NOB genus “ Candidatus Nitrotoga” and performed a detailed physiological and genomic characterization of this organism (“ Candidatus Nitrotoga fabula”). Differences between key phenotypic properties of “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” and those of previously enriched “ Ca . Nitrotoga” members reveal an unexpectedly broad range of physiological adaptations in this genus. Moreover, genes encoding components of energy metabolisms outside nitrification suggest that “ Ca . Nitrotoga” are ecologically more flexible than previously anticipated. The identification of a novel nitrite-oxidizing enzyme in “ Ca . Nitrotoga fabula” expands our picture of the evolutionary history of nitrification and might lead to discoveries of novel nitrite oxidizers. Altogether, this study provides urgently needed insights into the biology of understudied but environmentally and biotechnologically important microorganisms.

AbstractAmmonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) within the phylumThaumarchaeaare the only known aerobic ammonia oxidizers in geothermal environments. Although molecular data indicate the presence of phylogenetically diverse AOA from theNitrosocaldusclade, group 1.1b and group 1.1aThaumarchaeain terrestrial high-temperature habitats, only one enrichment culture of an AOA thriving above 50 °C has been reported and functionally analyzed. In this study, we physiologically and genomically characterized a novelThaumarchaeonfrom the deep-branchingNitrosocaldaceaefamily of which we have obtained a high (∼85 %) enrichment from biofilm of an Icelandic hot spring (73 °C). This AOA, which we provisionally refer to as “CandidatusNitrosocaldus islandicus”, is an obligately thermophilic, aerobic chemolithoautotrophic ammonia oxidizer, which stoichiometrically converts ammonia to nitrite at temperatures between 50 °C and 70 °C.Ca.N. islandicus encodes the expected repertoire of enzymes proposed to be required for archaeal ammonia oxidation, but unexpectedly lacks anirKgene and also possesses no identifiable other enzyme for nitric oxide (NO) generation. Nevertheless, ammonia oxidation by this AOA appears to be NO-dependent asCa.N. islandicus is, like all other tested AOA, inhibited by the addition of an NO scavenger. Furthermore, comparative genomics revealed thatCa.N. islandicus has the potential for aromatic amino acid fermentation as its genome encodes an indolepyruvate oxidoreductase(iorAB)as well as a type 3b hydrogenase, which are not present in any other sequenced AOA. A further surprising genomic feature of this thermophilic ammonia oxidizer is the absence of DNA polymerase D genes - one of the predominant replicative DNA polymerases in all other ammonia-oxidizingThaumarchaea.Collectively, our findings suggest that metabolic versatility and DNA replication might differ substantially between obligately thermophilic and other AOA.