Acidophilic iron oxidizing bacteria of the betaproteobacterial genus “Ferrovum” are ubiquitously distributed in acid mine drainage (AMD) habitats worldwide. Since their isolation and maintenance in the laboratory has proved to be extremely difficult, members of this genus are not accessible to a “classical” microbiological characterization with exception of the designated type strain “Ferrovum myxofaciens” P3G.
The present study reports the characterization of “Ferrovum” strains at genome and transcriptome level. “Ferrovum” sp. JA12, “Ferrovum” sp. PN-J185 and “F. myxofaciens” Z-31 represent the iron oxidizers of the mixed cultures JA12, PN-J185 and Z-31. The mixed cultures were derived from the mine water treatment plant Tzschelln close to the lignite mining site in Nochten (Lusatia, Germany). The mixed cultures also contain a heterotrophic strain of the genus Acidiphilium. The genome analysis of Acidiphilium sp. JA12-A1, the heterotrophic contamination of the mixed culture JA12, indicates an interspecies carbon and phosphate transfer between Acidiphilium and “Ferrovum” in the mixed culture, and possibly also in their natural habitat. The comparison of the inferred metabolic potentials of four “Ferrovum” strains and the analysis of their phylogenetic relationships suggest the existence of two subgroups within the genus “Ferrovum” (i.e. the operational taxonomic units OTU-1 and OUT-2) harboring characteristic metabolic profiles. OTU-1 includes the “F. myxofaciens” strains P3G and Z-31, which are predicted to be motile and diazotrophic, and to have a higher acid tolerance than OTU-2. The latter includes two closely related proposed species represented by the strains JA12 and PN-J185, which appear to lack the abilities of motility, chemotaxis and molecular nitrogen fixation. Instead, both OTU-2 strains harbor the potential to use urea as alternative nitrogen source to ammonium, and even nitrate in case of the JA12-like species. The analysis of the genome architectures of the four “Ferrovum” strains suggests that horizontal gene transfer and loss of metabolic genes, accompanied by genome reduction, have contributed to the evolution of the OTUs.
A trial transcriptome study of “Ferrovum” sp. JA12 supports the ferrous iron oxidation model inferred from its genome sequence, and reveals the potential relevance of several hypothetical proteins in ferrous iron oxidation. Although the inferred models in “Ferrovum” spp. share common features with the acidophilic iron oxidizers of the Acidithiobacillia, it appears to be more similar to the neutrophilic iron oxidizers Mariprofundus ferrooxydans (“Zetaproteobacteria”) and Sideroxydans lithotrophicus (Betaproteobacteria). These findings suggest a common origin of ferrous iron oxidation in the Beta- and “Zetaproteobacteria”, while the acidophilic lifestyle of “Ferrovum” spp. may have been acquired later, allowing them to also colonize acid mine drainage habitats.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa.de:bsz:105-qucosa-205981 |
| Date | 30 June 2016 |
| Creators | Ullrich, Sophie |
| Contributors | Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Chemie und Physik, Prof. Dr. Michael Schlömann, Prof. Dr. Michael Schlömann, Prof. Dr. Kirsten Küsel |
| Publisher | Technische Universitaet Bergakademie Freiberg Universitaetsbibliothek "Georgius Agricola" |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | doc-type:doctoralThesis |
| Format | application/pdf, text/plain, application/zip |
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