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Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas whose production is catalyzed by nitric oxide reductase (NOR) members of the heme-copper oxidoreductase (HCO) enzyme superfamily. We identified several previously uncharacterized HCO families, four of which (eNOR, sNOR, gNOR, and nNOR) appear to perform NO reduction. These families have novel active-site structures and several have conserved proton channels, suggesting that they might be able to couple NO reduction to energy conservation. We isolated and biochemically characterized a member of the eNOR family from the bacterium Rhodothermus marinus and found that it performs NO reduction. These recently identified NORs exhibited broad phylogenetic and environmental distributions, greatly expanding the diversity of microbes in nature capable of NO reduction. Phylogenetic analyses further demonstrated that NORs evolved multiple times independently from oxygen reductases, supporting the view that complete denitrification evolved after aerobic respiration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the biogeochemical roles of microorganisms in the environment, it is important to determine when and under which conditions they are metabolically active. Bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) can reveal active cells by tracking the incorporation of synthetic amino acids into newly synthesized proteins. The phylogenetic identity of translationally active cells can be determined by combining BONCAT with rRNA-targeted fluorescence in situ hybridization (BONCAT-FISH). In theory, BONCAT-labeled cells could be isolated with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (BONCAT-FACS) for subsequent genetic analyses. Here, in the first application, to our knowledge, of BONCAT-FISH and BONCAT-FACS within an environmental context, we probe the translational activity of microbial consortia catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), a dominant sink of methane in the ocean. These consortia, which typically are composed of anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria, have been difficult to study due to their slow in situ growth rates, and fundamental questions remain about their ecology and diversity of interactions occurring between ANME and associated partners. Our activity-correlated analyses of >16,400 microbial aggregates provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that AOM consortia affiliated with all five major ANME clades are concurrently active under controlled conditions. Surprisingly, sorting of individual BONCAT-labeled consortia followed by whole-genome amplification and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed previously unrecognized interactions of ANME with members of the poorly understood phylum Verrucomicrobia This finding, together with our observation that ANME-associated Verrucomicrobia are found in a variety of geographically distinct methane seep environments, suggests a broader range of symbiotic relationships within AOM consortia than previously thought.

To understand the biogeochemical roles of microorganisms in the environment, it is important to determine when and under which conditions they are metabolically active. Bioorthogonal noncanonical amino acid tagging (BONCAT) can reveal active cells by tracking the incorporation of synthetic amino acids into newly synthesized proteins. The phylogenetic identity of translationally active cells can be determined by combining BONCAT with rRNA-targeted fluorescence in situ hybridization (BONCAT-FISH). In theory, BONCAT-labeled cells could be isolated with fluorescence-activated cell sorting (BONCAT-FACS) for subsequent genetic analyses. Here, in the first application, to our knowledge, of BONCAT-FISH and BONCAT-FACS within an environmental context, we probe the translational activity of microbial consortia catalyzing the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM), a dominant sink of methane in the ocean. These consortia, which typically are composed of anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea (ANME) and sulfate-reducing bacteria, have been difficult to study due to their slow in situ growth rates, and fundamental questions remain about their ecology and diversity of interactions occurring between ANME and associated partners. Our activity-correlated analyses of >16,400 microbial aggregates provide the first evidence, to our knowledge, that AOM consortia affiliated with all five major ANME clades are concurrently active under controlled conditions. Surprisingly, sorting of individual BONCAT-labeled consortia followed by whole-genome amplification and 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed previously unrecognized interactions of ANME with members of the poorly understood phylum Verrucomicrobia This finding, together with our observation that ANME-associated Verrucomicrobia are found in a variety of geographically distinct methane seep environments, suggests a broader range of symbiotic relationships within AOM consortia than previously thought.

Reports of biogenic methane (CH4) synthesis associated with a range of organisms have steadily accumulated in the literature. This has not happened without controversy and in most cases the process is poorly understood at the gene and enzyme levels. In marine and freshwater environments, CH4 supersaturation of oxic surface waters has been termed the "methane paradox" because biological CH4 synthesis is viewed to be a strictly anaerobic process carried out by O2-sensitive methanogens. Interest in this phenomenon has surged within the past decade because of the importance of understanding sources and sinks of this potent greenhouse gas. In our work on Yellowstone Lake in Yellowstone National Park, we demonstrate microbiological conversion of methylamine to CH4 and isolate and characterize an Acidovorax sp. capable of this activity. Furthermore, we identify and clone a gene critical to this process (encodes pyridoxylamine phosphate-dependent aspartate aminotransferase) and demonstrate that this property can be transferred to Escherichia coli with this gene and will occur as a purified enzyme. This previously unrecognized process sheds light on environmental cycling of CH4, suggesting that O2-insensitive, ecologically relevant aerobic CH4 synthesis is likely of widespread distribution in the environment and should be considered in CH4 modeling efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a microfluidics-based workflow for genetically targeted isolation and cultivation of microorganisms from complex clinical samples. Data sets from high-throughput sequencing suggest the existence of previously unidentified bacterial taxa and functional genes with high biomedical importance. Obtaining isolates of these targets, preferably in pure cultures, is crucial for advancing understanding of microbial genetics and physiology and enabling physical access to microbes for further applications. However, the majority of microbes have not been cultured, due in part to the difficulties of both identifying proper growth conditions and characterizing and isolating each species. We describe a method that enables genetically targeted cultivation of microorganisms through a combination of microfluidics and on-and off-chip assays. This method involves (i) identification of cultivation conditions for microbes using growth substrates available only in small quantities as well as the correction of sampling bias using a "chip wash" technique; and (ii) performing on-chip genetic assays while also preserving live bacterial cells for subsequent scale-up cultivation of desired microbes, by applying recently developed technology to create arrays of individually addressable replica microbial cultures. We validated this targeted approach by cultivating a bacterium, here referred to as isolate microfluidicus 1, from a human cecal biopsy. Isolate microfluidicus 1 is, to our knowledge, the first successful example of targeted cultivation of a microorganism from the high-priority group of the Human Microbiome Project's "Most Wanted" list, and, to our knowledge, the first cultured representative of a previously unidentified genus of the Ruminococcaceae family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrification is a core process in the global nitrogen cycle that is essential for the functioning of many ecosystems. The discovery of autotrophic ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) within the phylum Thaumarchaeota has changed our perception of the microbiology of nitrification, in particular since their numerical dominance over ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) in many environments has been revealed. These and other data have led to a widely held assumption that all amoA-encoding members of the Thaumarchaeota (AEA) are autotrophic nitrifiers. In this study, 52 municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants were screened for the presence of AEA and AOB. Thaumarchaeota carrying amoA were detected in high abundance only in four industrial plants. In one plant, thaumarchaeotes closely related to soil group I.1b outnumbered AOB up to 10,000-fold, and their numbers, which can only be explained by active growth in this continuous culture system, were two to three orders of magnitude higher than could be sustained by autotrophic ammonia oxidation. Consistently, (14)CO(2) fixation could only be detected in AOB but not in AEA in actively nitrifying sludge from this plant via FISH combined with microautoradiography. Furthermore, in situ transcription of archaeal amoA, and very weak in situ labeling of crenarchaeol after addition of (13)CO(2), was independent of the addition of ammonium. These data demonstrate that some amoA-carrying group I.1b Thaumarchaeota are not obligate chemolithoautotrophs.