mBio


Publications
20

Candidatus Ethanoperedens,” a Thermophilic Genus of Archaea Mediating the Anaerobic Oxidation of Ethane

Citation
Hahn et al. (2020). mBio 11 (2)
Names
“Caldatribacteriota” Ca. Argarchaeum “Desulfofervidus auxilii” Ca. Ethanoperedens Ca. Ethanoperedens thermophilum
Abstract
In the seabed, gaseous alkanes are oxidized by syntrophic microbial consortia that thereby reduce fluxes of these compounds into the water column. Because of the immense quantities of seabed alkane fluxes, these consortia are key catalysts of the global carbon cycle. Due to their obligate syntrophic lifestyle, the physiology of alkane-degrading archaea remains poorly understood. We have now cultivated a thermophilic, relatively fast-growing ethane oxidizer in partnership with a sulfate-reducing

Anaerobic Degradation of Non-Methane Alkanes by “ Candidatus Methanoliparia” in Hydrocarbon Seeps of the Gulf of Mexico

Citation
Laso-Pérez et al. (2019). mBio 10 (4)
Names
Ca. Argarchaeum Methanoliparia Ca. Syntrophoarchaeum Methanoliparum thermophilum Ts
Abstract
Oil-rich sediments from the Gulf of Mexico were found to contain diverse alkane-degrading groups of archaea. The symbiotic, consortium-forming “ Candidatus Argoarchaeum” and “ Candidatus Syntrophoarchaeum” are likely responsible for the degradation of ethane and short-chain alkanes, with the help of sulfate-reducing bacteria. “ Ca. Methanoliparia” occurs as single cells associated with oil droplets. These archae

Long-Term Transcriptional Activity at Zero Growth of a Cosmopolitan Rare Biosphere Member

Citation
Hausmann et al. (2019). mBio 10 (1)
Names
Desulfosporosinus infrequens
Abstract
The microbial rare biosphere represents the largest pool of biodiversity on Earth and constitutes, in sum of all its members, a considerable part of a habitat’s biomass. Dormancy or starvation is typically used to explain the persistence of low-abundance microorganisms in the environment. We show that a low-abundance microorganism can be highly transcriptionally active while remaining in a zero-growth state for at least 7 weeks. Our results provide evidence that this zero growth at a high cellul

The Transcriptional Cycle Is Suited to Daytime N 2 Fixation in the Unicellular Cyanobacterium “ Candidatus Atelocyanobacterium thalassa” (UCYN-A)

Citation
Muñoz-Marín et al. (2019). mBio 10 (1)
Names
Ca. Atelocyanobacterium thalassa
Abstract
The symbiotic N 2 -fixing cyanobacterium UCYN-A, which is closely related to Braarudosphaera bigelowii , and its eukaryotic algal host have been shown to be globally distributed and important in open-ocean N 2 fixation. These unique cyanobacteria have reduced metabolic capabilities, even lacking genes for oxygenic photosynthesis and carbon fixation. Cyanobacteria generally use energy from photosynthesis for nitr

Characterization of the First “ Candidatus Nitrotoga” Isolate Reveals Metabolic Versatility and Separate Evolution of Widespread Nitrite-Oxidizing Bacteria

Citation
Kitzinger et al. (2018). mBio 9 (4)
Names
Ca. Nitrotoga Ca. Nitrotoga fabula
Abstract
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

Genomic Insight into Symbiosis-Induced Insect Color Change by a Facultative Bacterial Endosymbiont, “ Candidatus Rickettsiella viridis”

Citation
Nikoh et al. (2018). mBio 9 (3)
Names
Ca. Rickettsiella viridis
Abstract
ABSTRACT Members of the genus Rickettsiella are bacterial pathogens of insects and other arthropods. Recently, a novel facultative endosymbiont, “ Candidatus Rickettsiella viridis,” was described in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum , whose infection causes a striking host phenotype: red and green genetic color morphs exist in aphid populations, and upon infection with the symbiont, red aphids become g

SAR202 Genomes from the Dark Ocean Predict Pathways for the Oxidation of Recalcitrant Dissolved Organic Matter

Citation
Landry et al. (2017). mBio 8 (2)
Names
“Monstramariaceae” “Monstramariales” “Monstramaria”
Abstract
ABSTRACT Deep-ocean regions beyond the reach of sunlight contain an estimated 615 Pg of dissolved organic matter (DOM), much of which persists for thousands of years. It is thought that bacteria oxidize DOM until it is too dilute or refractory to support microbial activity. We analyzed five single-amplified genomes (SAGs) from the abundant SAR202 clade of dark-ocean bacterioplankton and found they encode multiple families of paralogous enzymes involved in carbon catabolism, including s

Novel Trypanosomatid-Bacterium Association: Evolution of Endosymbiosis in Action

Citation
Kostygov et al. (2016). mBio 7 (2)
Names
Ca. Pandoraea novymonadis
Abstract
ABSTRACT We describe a novel symbiotic association between a kinetoplastid protist, Novymonas esmeraldas gen. nov., sp. nov., and an intracytoplasmic bacterium, “ Candidatus Pandoraea novymonadis” sp. nov., discovered as a result of a broad-scale survey of insect trypanosomatid biodiversity in Ecuador. We characterize this association by describing the morphology of both organisms, as well as their interactions, and by establ

Symbiotic Adaptation Drives Genome Streamlining of the Cyanobacterial Sponge Symbiont “ Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum”

Citation
Gao et al. (2014). mBio 5 (2)
Names
Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum
Abstract
ABSTRACT “ Candidatus Synechococcus spongiarum” is a cyanobacterial symbiont widely distributed in sponges, but its functions at the genome level remain unknown. Here, we obtained the draft genome (1.66 Mbp, 90% estimated genome recovery) of “ Ca. Synechococcus spongiarum” strain SH4 inhabiting the Red Sea sponge Carteriospongia foliascens . Phylogenomic analysis revealed a high dissimilarity between S

Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses of “ Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique” Describe the First P II -Independent Response to Nitrogen Limitation in a Free-Living Alphaproteobacterium

Citation
Smith et al. (2013). mBio 4 (6)
Names
Ca. Pelagibacter ubique
Abstract
ABSTRACT Nitrogen is one of the major nutrients limiting microbial productivity in the ocean, and as a result, most marine microorganisms have evolved systems for responding to nitrogen stress. The highly abundant alphaproteobacterium “ Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique,” a cultured member of the order Pelagibacterales (SAR11), lacks the canonical GlnB, GlnD, GlnK, and NtrB/NtrC genes for regulating nitrogen assimilation, raisin