Norbert Pfennig, a German microbiologist, isolated the first true acidophilic purple bacterium in 1969. He named the organism Rhodoblastus acidophilus. Since the original work of Pfennig, no study has examined the phylogeny and physiology of the original strains of R. acidophilus or isolated any new strains. In this thesis six new strains of acidophilic purple nonsulfur bacteria were isolated from a Canadian Sphagnum peat bog. Moreover, three original Pfennig strains of R. acidophilus and two uncharacterized strains (previously isolated by Michael Madigan) were included in experiments aimed to describe the new isolates and further our understanding of the species Rhodoblastus acidophilus. Although pigmentation varied, all of the strains studied were very similar. The 16S rRNA genes of the new bog isolates and the original strains of R. acidophilus and Rhodoblastus sphagnicola, another acidophilic purple phototroph isolated from a Sphagnum peat bog in Russia, showed a 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity greater than or equal to 97%. All isolates were acidophilic and grew best photoheterotrophically on certain organic or fatty acids, or alcohols as carbon sources. Despite subtle physiological differences, all of the strains shared many characteristics. This indicates that R. acidophilus is a reasonably homogenous species and suggests that diversity of the acidophilic phototrophs may be low.

Purple nonsulfur bacteria are a group of extraordinary metabolic diverse bacteria. They can grow photoautotrophically, photoheterotrophically , chemoheterotrophically or chemoautotrophically. Under various conditions, they can enjoy exceptional flexibility within each of these modes of metabolism. Due to the special physical characteristics properties, they had attracted scientist¡¦s attention in resent years. These bacteria are widely distributed in nature such as lakes, water ponds, coastal lagoons or high concentration organic waste lagoons. Lotus Pond, located in northern Kaohsiung City, is a serious eutrophied artificial lake. Because of receiving sufficient light and having been polluted by significant amounts of soluble organic matter, the ecology of the lake is suitable for the growth of purple nonsulfur bacteria. In the study, the lake water and sediments by using a Winograsdsky column, we successfully isolated 16 strains bacteria from the Lotus Pond. We also amplified the 16S-rDNA fragments of these strains by PCR and sequenced these PCR products, then aligned these sequences with the data of GeneBank. We affirmed that the 16 isolated strains belong to purple nonsulfur bacteria. From phylogenetic analysis, these 16 strains belong to the following three groups of bacteria: Rhodopseudomonas palustris, Rubrivivax gelatinosus, and Rhodobacter sphaeroides. Characteristic studies of these strains, we found that all isolated strains are Gram negative bacteria and contain bacteriochlorophyll a. The strains that belong to R. palustris and R. sphaeroides group can use several different types of short chain organic acid as their carbon source and have denitrification ability. However, only the strains belong to R. palustris group are able to use the aromatic compound benzoate. From salt tolerant studies, we found the strains in R. sphaeroides group can grow well in 3% NaCl, and both R. palustris and R. gelatinosus group can only grow in 1% NaCl.

Orientador: Elisa Helena Giglio Ponsano / Banca: Maria Josefa Santos Yabe / Banca: Manoel Garcia Neto / Resumo: Rubrivivax gelatinosus é uma Bactéria Púrpura Não Sulfurosa (BPNS) que apresenta a capacidade de realizar a biorremediação de águas residuárias e, ao mesmo tempo, produzir pigmentos carotenóides. Os objetivos desse estudo foram a caracterização da curva de crescimento da bactéria no efluente de abatedouro avícola em nível de 1% (v/v) de inóculo, a determinação da produtividade do processo de obtenção de biomassa e a avaliação da capacidade de remoção da Demanda Química Oxigênio do processo. R. gelatinosus apresentou maior crescimento no oitavo dia de cultivo (Absorvância = 1.177; peso-seco = 0.18 g l-1), produtividade de 0.085 g biomassa (massa seca) l-1 d-1 e uma redução de 91% na DQO do efluente de abatedouro avícola. / Abstract: Purple nonsulfur phototrophic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus was used to promote the bioremediation of poultry slaugtherhouse wastewater. The aims of this study were to characterize the bacterium growth curve in that effluent at 1% (v/v) inoculum level, to determine the productivity of the biomass production process and to evaluate the Chemical Oxygen Demand removal activity of the process. R. gelatinosus showed the highest growth on the 8th day of cultivation (Absorbance = 1.177; Dry weight = 0.18 g l-1), productivity was around 0.085 g biomass (dry weight) l-1 d-1 and the COD of the poultry slaugtherhouse wastewater decreased in 91%. / Mestre

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2006-12-06Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T18:55:52Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 paulino_cz_me_araca.pdf: 323136 bytes, checksum: 6854d586f088791d23b4e269a253d293 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / Rubrivivax gelatinosus é uma Bactéria Púrpura Não Sulfurosa (BPNS) que apresenta a capacidade de realizar a biorremediação de águas residuárias e, ao mesmo tempo, produzir pigmentos carotenóides. Os objetivos desse estudo foram a caracterização da curva de crescimento da bactéria no efluente de abatedouro avícola em nível de 1% (v/v) de inóculo, a determinação da produtividade do processo de obtenção de biomassa e a avaliação da capacidade de remoção da Demanda Química Oxigênio do processo. R. gelatinosus apresentou maior crescimento no oitavo dia de cultivo (Absorvância = 1.177; peso-seco = 0.18 g l-1), produtividade de 0.085 g biomassa (massa seca) l-1 d-1 e uma redução de 91% na DQO do efluente de abatedouro avícola. / Purple nonsulfur phototrophic bacterium Rubrivivax gelatinosus was used to promote the bioremediation of poultry slaugtherhouse wastewater. The aims of this study were to characterize the bacterium growth curve in that effluent at 1% (v/v) inoculum level, to determine the productivity of the biomass production process and to evaluate the Chemical Oxygen Demand removal activity of the process. R. gelatinosus showed the highest growth on the 8th day of cultivation (Absorbance = 1.177; Dry weight = 0.18 g l-1), productivity was around 0.085 g biomass (dry weight) l-1 d-1 and the COD of the poultry slaugtherhouse wastewater decreased in 91%.

The current research project investigated the anoxygenic phototrophic and metal(loid) transforming bacteria of hypersaline and deep ocean hydrothermal environments. The East German Creek brine springs, an unusual flowing hypersaline system, was enumerated using classical techniques. Subterranean sulfide supported purple sulfur and nonsulfur bacteria, but at the highly oxygenated surface, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAP) were numerically dominant (up to 16-36% of cultivable bacteria). Strains (EG8, EG13, EG17, EG19) with unusual phylogenetic affiliation and novel photosynthetic and metal(loid) reducing traits were described taxonomically. Chromocurvus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. was proposed as a second example of a gammaproteobacterial AAP. It exhibited bent rod-shaped cells, unusual among AAP. Facultatively anaerobic Charonomicrobium ambiphototrophicum gen. nov., sp. nov. was capable of both aerobic and anaerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis, and incapable of photoautotrophy, distinguishing it from both AAP and purple nonsulfur bacteria. Roseovarius vanadiphilum sp. nov. surprisingly produced 4.5 times more biomass and 2 times more bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) at extremely high NaVO3 concentration (7.5 g/l) than in metal-free medium. A second novel metabolic mode, anaerobic respiration on the toxic metalloid tellurate, was described for a relative of non-phototrophic Shewanella frigidimarina (ER-Te-48), from deep ocean hydrothermal vent Paralvinella worms at Explorer Ridge in the Pacific Ocean. Other strains respired on SeO32- (ER-Se-17L), VO3- (ER-V-6), and VO43- (AV-V-25). These organisms provided the first examples of anaerobic respiration on Te, Se and V at hydrothermal vents. High level resistance of AAP to metal(loid)s prompted investigation of the influence of TeO32- on photosynthetic pigment production in species including Erythromicrobium ramosum (from a terrestrial hydrothermal system) and Erythrobacter litoralis (from a hypersaline supralittoral system). Tellurite enhanced photosynthetic pigment production up to 3.4 times, consistent with an antioxidant carotenoid-based defense mechanism. However, in E. litoralis BChl precursors such as Mg protoporphyrin or its monomethyl ester also accumulated, indicating biosynthetic pathway interruption. In hydrothermal and hypersaline ecosystems, largely devoid of eukaryotic phototrophs but often enriched in metal(loid)s, AAP and metal(loid) reducers are key modulators of nutrient and toxin availability. The presented results on their ecology, physiology and biochemistry have important implications for theoretical understanding of extreme environments and hold potential for biotechnological applications.

The current research project investigated the anoxygenic phototrophic and metal(loid) transforming bacteria of hypersaline and deep ocean hydrothermal environments. The East German Creek brine springs, an unusual flowing hypersaline system, was enumerated using classical techniques. Subterranean sulfide supported purple sulfur and nonsulfur bacteria, but at the highly oxygenated surface, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAP) were numerically dominant (up to 16-36% of cultivable bacteria). Strains (EG8, EG13, EG17, EG19) with unusual phylogenetic affiliation and novel photosynthetic and metal(loid) reducing traits were described taxonomically. Chromocurvus halotolerans gen. nov., sp. nov. was proposed as a second example of a gammaproteobacterial AAP. It exhibited bent rod-shaped cells, unusual among AAP. Facultatively anaerobic Charonomicrobium ambiphototrophicum gen. nov., sp. nov. was capable of both aerobic and anaerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis, and incapable of photoautotrophy, distinguishing it from both AAP and purple nonsulfur bacteria. Roseovarius vanadiphilum sp. nov. surprisingly produced 4.5 times more biomass and 2 times more bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) at extremely high NaVO3 concentration (7.5 g/l) than in metal-free medium. A second novel metabolic mode, anaerobic respiration on the toxic metalloid tellurate, was described for a relative of non-phototrophic Shewanella frigidimarina (ER-Te-48), from deep ocean hydrothermal vent Paralvinella worms at Explorer Ridge in the Pacific Ocean. Other strains respired on SeO32- (ER-Se-17L), VO3- (ER-V-6), and VO43- (AV-V-25). These organisms provided the first examples of anaerobic respiration on Te, Se and V at hydrothermal vents. High level resistance of AAP to metal(loid)s prompted investigation of the influence of TeO32- on photosynthetic pigment production in species including Erythromicrobium ramosum (from a terrestrial hydrothermal system) and Erythrobacter litoralis (from a hypersaline supralittoral system). Tellurite enhanced photosynthetic pigment production up to 3.4 times, consistent with an antioxidant carotenoid-based defense mechanism. However, in E. litoralis BChl precursors such as Mg protoporphyrin or its monomethyl ester also accumulated, indicating biosynthetic pathway interruption. In hydrothermal and hypersaline ecosystems, largely devoid of eukaryotic phototrophs but often enriched in metal(loid)s, AAP and metal(loid) reducers are key modulators of nutrient and toxin availability. The presented results on their ecology, physiology and biochemistry have important implications for theoretical understanding of extreme environments and hold potential for biotechnological applications.