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Diel cycle is of enormous biological importance as it imposes daily oscillation in environmental conditions, which temporally structures most ecosystems. Organisms developed biological time-keeping mechanisms – circadian clocks – that provide a significant fitness advantage over competitors by optimising the synchronisation of their biological activities. While circadian clocks are ubiquitous in Eukaryotes, they are so far only characterised in Cyanobacteria within Prokaryotes. However, growing evidence suggests that circadian clocks are widespread in the bacterial and archaeal domains. As Prokaryotes are at the heart of crucial environmental processes and are essential to human health, unravelling their time-keeping systems provides numerous applications in medical research, environmental sciences, and biotechnology. In this review, we elaborate on how novel circadian clocks in Prokaryotes offer research and development perspectives. We compare and contrast the different circadian systems in Cyanobacteria and discuss about their evolution and taxonomic distribution. We necessarily provide an updated phylogenetic analysis of bacterial and archaeal species that harbour homologs of the main cyanobacterial clock components. Finally, we elaborate on new potential clock-controlled microorganisms that represent opportunities of ecological and industrial relevance in prokaryotic groups such as anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria, methanogenic archaea, methanotrophs or sulphate-reducing bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus is the second major plant nutrient and the availability of this element to plants is a major challenge due to conversion to insoluble form by chemical reactions with metal cations depending upon the soil pH. Total of sixty eight isolates of phosphate solubilizing bacteria from rhizosphere of mustard grown in different region of Haryana was studied. The isolates were mutagenised by giving treatment of Nitrosoguanidine (50 ug/ml). Three PSB strains (15M, 22M and 25M) and six mutants (15M2, 15M6, 22M28, 22M29, 25M11 and 25M30) were evaluated for their establishment in the rhizosphere, their effect on biomass production in mustard (Brassica juncea). Total bacterial count in rhizosphere increased after 30 and 40 days of sowing while decrease in growth was observed at 60 days of sowing. The phosphate solubilizing bacterial count in the rhizosphere varied from 1 to 24, 2 to 20 and 1 to 11 at 30, 45 and 60 days after sowing. Phosphate uptake also increased upto 11–21% which shows thatmutants had significant effect on increase in plant dry biomass and P-uptake under pot house conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unveiling biomedical functions of tumor‐resident microbiota is challenging for developing advanced anticancer medicines. This study demonstrates that isolated intratumoral bacteria, associated with natural purple photosynthetic bacteria, have inherent biocompatibility and strong immunogenic anticancer efficacies. They preferentially grow and proliferate within a targeted tumor milieu, which effectively causes immune cells to infiltrate the tumor and provoke strong anticancer responses in various syngeneic mouse models, including colorectal cancer, sarcoma, metastatic lung cancer, and extensive drug‐resistant breast cancer. Furthermore, these functional bacteria‐treated mice exhibit excellent anticancerous responses and have significantly prolonged survival rates with effective immunological memory. Light‐harvesting nanocomplexes of microbial consortia of intratumoral bacteria and purple photosynthetic bacteria can diagnose tumors using bio‐optical‐window near‐infrared light, making them useful theranostic agents for highly targeted immunological elimination of the tumor and for precisely marking tumor location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The availability of agricultural wastewater in arid climes limits the possibility of exploiting purple non‐sulfur bacteria (PNSB) to recover aqua‐feed bioproducts. Thus, this study examines the feasibility of recovering such bioproducts using fuel‐synthesis process water (FSPW) as a feedstock. Experiments were performed under varying light conditions. The results revealed that PNSB cultured in the zero‐nitrogen feedstock had over 40 % protein content, contained substantial lipids and pigments, and reduced FSPW organics by over 70 %. The light intensity significantly impacted biomass constituents and treatment efficiency. The results are promising for the potential development of a circular economy to convert FSPW to aqua‐feed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, three metagenome-assembled genomes of a sediment sample were constructed. A Bin1 (JB001) genome was identified as a photo-litho-auto/heterotroph (purple sulfur bacteria) bacterium with the ability to fix nitrogen, tolerate salt, and to produce bacteriochlorophyll a. It has a genome length of 4.1 Mb and a G + C content of 64.9%. Phylogenetic studies based on concatenated 92 core genes and photosynthetic genes (pufLM and bchY) showed that Bin JB001 is related to Thiococcus pfennigii, "Thioflavicoccus mobilis" and to the Lamprocystis purpurea lineage. Bin JB001 and its closely related members were subjected to the genome-based study of phenotypic and phylogenomic analysis. Genomic similarity indices (dDDH and ANI) showed that Bin JB001 could be defined as a novel species. The average amino acid identity (AAI) and percentage of conserved proteins (POCP) values were below 60 and 50%, respectively. The pan-genome analysis indicated that the pan-genome was an open type wherein Bin JB001 had 855 core genes. This study shows that the binned genome, Bin JB001 could represent a novel species of a new genus under the family Chromatiaceae, for which the name "Candidatus Thioaporhodococcus sediminis" gen. nov. sp. nov. is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Bacterial consortium AUN has high tumour specificity and non-pathogenicity. • Photocatalytic scaffolds improve anticancer efficacy and safety of AUN. • Various breast cancer models could be cured by the AUN using the scaffolds. • Complicated and expensive procedures for their production are unnecessary. Microbial metabolism and function are regulated by ambient microenvironment, yet no functional microporous materials are known to regulate anticancer activity of complex bacterial systems. Here we show that a simple scaffold-mediated bacterial culture is useful for enhancing the anticancer therapeutic abilities of a microbial consortium designated as AUN and composed of intratumoural bacteria Proteus mirabilis (A-gyo) and purple photosynthetic bacteria Rhodopseudomonas palustris (UN-gyo). Our discovery of the mechanism by which porous scaffolds influence the bacterial activities of AUN will facilitate further designs of artificial scaffold material for effective treatment against drug-resistant, triple-negative breast cancer models. A polydimethylsiloxane composite artificial scaffold encapsulating light-activatable TiO 2 particularly enhanced the therapeutic outcomes of AUN in syngeneic and orthotopic models. These strong anticancer efficacies were synergistically expressed in tumours because of the potent oncolytic ability of AUN with the help of various immune cells. AUN administration to canines showed well tolerability in an exploratory study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite solid, growing genomic evidence for bacteria practicing bacteriochlorophyll and rhodopsin-based dual phototrophy, direct physiological proof has been lacking for over a decade until Kopejtka et al. recently solved the puzzle in an Alpine psychrophilic bacterium. Here, I highlight conceptual developments and address an overlooked, ecologically important phototrophic byproduct – heat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthetic purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNB) have been widely utilized as model organisms to study bacterial photosynthesis. More recently, the remarkable resistance of these microorganisms to several metals ions called particular interest. As a result, several research efforts were directed toward clarifying the interactions of metal ions with PNB. The mechanisms of metal ions active uptake and bioabsorption have been studied in detail, unveiling that PNB enable harvesting and removing various toxic ions, thus fostering applications in environmental remediation. Herein, we present the most important achievements in the understanding of intact cell-metal ions interactions and the approaches utilized to study such processes. Following, the application of PNB-metal ions interactions toward metal removal from contaminated environments is presented. Finally, the possible coupling of PNB with abiotic electrodes to obtain biohybrid electrochemical systems is proposed as a sustainable pathway to tune and enhance metal removal and monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Marine photosynthetic microalgae are ubiquitously associated with bacteria in nature. However, the influence of these bacteria on algal cultures in bioreactors is still largely unknown. In this study, eighteen different bacterial strains were isolated from cultures of Nannochloropsis sp. CCAP211/78 in two outdoor pilot‐scale tubular photobioreactors. The majority of isolates was affiliated with the classes Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteriia. To assess the impact of the eighteen strains on the growth of Nannochloropsis sp. CCAP211/78, 24‐well plates coupled with custom‐made LED boxes were used to simultaneously compare replicate axenic microalgal cultures with addition of individual bacterial isolates. Co‐culturing of Nannochloropsis sp. CCAP211/78 with these strains demonstrated distinct responses, which shows that the technique we developed is an efficient method for screening the influence of harmful/beneficial bacteria. Two of the tested strains, namely a strain of Maritalea porphyrae (DMSP31) and a Labrenzia aggregata strain (YP26), significantly enhanced microalgal growth with a 14% and 12% increase of the chlorophyll concentration, respectively, whereas flavobacterial strain YP206 greatly inhibited the growth of the microalga with 28% reduction of the chlorophyll concentration. Our study suggests that algal production systems represent a 'natural' source to isolate and study microorganisms that can either benefit or harm algal cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study evaluated the effects of five bacterial isolates from the microalga Muriellopsis sp. on the microalgal biomass concentration (g/L), specific growth rate (K), photosynthetic quantum yield (QY), non‐photochemical quenching (NPQ), maximum relative electron transport rates (rETR max) and levels of nutritional components such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and carotenoids in Muriellopsis sp. cultivated in seawater under indoor and outdoor conditions. The bacterial strains were Microbacterium sp. Dom 1; Pseudomonas sp. Dom2; Microbacterium sp. Dom 3; Rhizobium sp. Dom 4; and Dietzia sp. Dom 5, as well as the Pseudoalteromonas sp. (SLP1), a bacterium known to promote the growth of microalgae. At the laboratory level, inoculation of the strains SLP1, Dom 1, Dom 3 and Dom 5 resulted in higher specific growth rates and biomass of the microalga. Subsequently, the best results were obtained with a combination of the selected bacterial strains (Dom1, Dom 3, Dom5 and SLP1) under outdoor culture conditions improved the biomass, proteins, carbohydrates and total carotenoids in 22.12%, 48.28%, 19,25% and 48.27%, respectively, compared to cultures without the incorporation of the selected bacteria (control), while no effects were observed on the photosynthetic parameters. Thus, it was demonstrated that positive associations of the selected bacterial strains played an important role in the production of Muriellopsis sp. acclimatized to grow in seawater. This is of crucial importance, especially in desert areas, where solar radiation is high and freshwater is a limited resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacterial strains of the phylum Planctomycetes occur ubiquitously, but are often found on surfaces of aquatic phototrophs, e.g. alga. Despite slower growth, planctomycetes are not outcompeted by faster-growing bacteria in biofilms on such surfaces; however, strategies allowing them to compensate for slower growth have not yet been investigated. Here, we identified stieleriacines, a class of N-acylated tyrosines produced by the novel planctomycete Stieleria maiorica Mal15T, and analysed their effects on growth of the producing strain and bacterial species likely co-occurring with strain Mal15T. Stieleriacines reduced the lag phase of Mal15T and either stimulated or inhibited biofilm formation of two bacterial competitors, indicating that Mal15T employs stieleriacines to specifically alter microbial biofilm composition. The genetic organisation of the putative stieleriacine biosynthetic cluster in strain Mal15T points towards a functional link of stieleriacine biosynthesis to exopolysaccharide-associated protein sorting and biofilm formation. Kallscheuer, Jeske, Sandargo et al. demonstrate that stieleriacines, a class of N-acylated tyrosine derivatives, can alter species abundance in marine biofilms. This study suggests that slow-growing planctomycetes employ stieleriacines to counteract the growth advantage of their competitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Violacein is an intensely purple pigment synthesized by various genera of bacteria that has been discovered to have a wide range of interesting biological activities which range from anticarcinogenic to antibacterial. One of the hindrances for its real-life application is that the first microorganisms found to produce the compound may act as opportunistic pathogens. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of violacein from a non-pathogenic Antarctic Iodobacter strain. Its anti-microbial properties were also tested. The method proposed here for the purification of violacein shows high yields, indicating that this Antarctic microorganism could be a valuable source for this important pigment. This is the first characterization of violacein from an Antarctic Iodobacter strain and here we also present a viable method to obtain this pigment for potential biotechnological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While increasing evidence supports a key role of bacteria in coral larvae settlement and development, the relative importance of environmentally-acquired versus vertically-transferred bacterial population is not clear. Here we have attempted to elucidate the role of post-brooding-acquired bacteria on the development of planula-larvae of the octocoral Rhytisma f. fulvum, in an in vitro cultivation system employing different types of filtered (FSW) and autoclaved (ASW) seawater and with the addition of native bacteria. A good development of larvae was obtained in polystyrene 6-well cell culture plates in the absence of natural reef substrata, achieving a 60–80% of larvae entering metamorphosis after 32 days, even in bacteria-free seawater, indicating that the bacteria acquired during the brooding period are sufficient to support planulae development. No significant difference in planulae attachment and development was observed when using 0.45 μm or 0.22 μm FSW, although autoclaving the 0.45 μm FSW negatively affected larval development, indicating the presence of beneficial bacteria. Autoclaving the different FSW homogenized the development of the larvae among the different treatments. The addition of bacterial strains isolated from the different FSW did not cause any significant effect on planulae development, although some specific strains of the genus Alteromonas seem to be beneficial for larvae development. Light was beneficial for planulae development after day 20, although no Symbiodinium cells could be observed, indicating either that light acts as a positive cue for larval development or the presence of beneficial phototrophic bacteria in the coral microbiome. The feasibility of obtaining advanced metamorphosed larvae in sterilized water provides an invaluable tool for studying the physiological role of the bacterial symbionts in the coral holobiont and the specificity of bacteria-coral interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In April 2014, dual bloom of green algae and purple bacteria occurred in a shallow, alkaline soda pan (Kiskunság National Park, Hungary). The water was only 5 cm deep, in which an upper green layer was clearly separated from a near-sediment purple one. Based on microscopy and DNA-based identification, the upper was inhabited by a dense population of the planktonic green alga, Oocystis submarina Lagerheim, while the deeper layer was formed by purple, bacteriochlorophyll-containing bacteria, predominated by Thiorhodospira and Rhodobaca. Additional bacterial taxa with a presumed capability of anoxygenic phototrophic growth belonged to the genera Loktanella and Porphyrobacter. Comparing the bacterial community of the purple layer with a former blooming event in a nearby soda pan, similar functional but different taxonomic composition was revealed. Members from many dominant bacterial groups were successfully cultivated including potentially new species, which could be the result of the application of newly designed media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine the positive effects of potassium‐solubilizing bacteria and photosynthetic bacteria on the salt tolerance of maize. Methods and Results: We selected the maize inbred lines USTB‐265 (salt‐sensitive), USTB‐109 (moderately salt‐tolerant) and USTB‐297 (salt‐tolerant) to investigate their growth characteristics, enzyme activity and gene expression in response to inoculation with photosynthetic bacteria and potassium‐solubilizing bacteria under salt‐stress conditions. Conclusions: Photosynthetic bacteria and potassium‐solubilizing bacteria inoculation significantly enhanced the expression of antioxidant enzyme‐related genes and increased the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase and ascorbate peroxidase. In addition, inoculation with photosynthetic bacteria more efficiently improved maize salt tolerance than inoculation with potassium‐solubilizing bacteria. While the effects of these bacteria differed among the three maize lines, both photosynthetic bacteria and potassium‐solubilizing bacteria can enhance salt tolerance in maize. Significance and Impact of the Study: Soil salinization is one of the most critical factors affecting maize growth. These two types of bacteria (e.g. Bacillus mojavensis JK07 and Rhodopseudomonas palustris) have proven useful in salinized agricultural lands as bio‐inoculants to increase crop productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • New mechanistic model for purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) is developed. • A novel empirical constant is introduced for parallel metabolic growth. • Most impactful parameters are identified by sensitivity analysis. • Kinetic parameters are calibrated through dedicated experiments. • Likely-to-occur perturbations are simulated to assess process performance. Purple phototrophic bacteria (PPB) show an underexplored potential for resource recovery from wastewater. Raceway reactors offer a more affordable full-scale solution on wastewater and enable useful additional aerobic processes. Current mathematical models of PPB systems provide useful mechanistic insights, but do not represent the full metabolic versatility of PPB and thus require further advancement to simulate the process for technology development and control. In this study, a new modelling approach for PPB that integrates the photoheterotrophic, and both anaerobic and aerobic chemoheterotrophic metabolic pathways through an empirical parallel metabolic growth constant was proposed. It aimed the modelling of microbial selection dynamics in competition with aerobic and anaerobic microbial community under different operational scenarios. A sensitivity analysis was carried out to identify the most influential parameters within the model and calibrate them based on experimental data. Process perturbation scenarios were simulated, which showed a good performance of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The phylum Chloroflexi is frequently found in high abundance in methanogenic reactors, but their role is still unclear as most of them remain uncultured and understudied. Hence, a detailed analysis was performed in samples from five up‐flow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) full‐scale reactors fed different industrial wastewaters. Methods and Results: Quantitative PCR show that the phylum Chloroflexi was abundant in all UASB methanogenic reactors, with higher abundance in the reactors operated for a long period of time, which presented granular biomass. Both terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism and 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed diverse Chloroflexi populations apparently determined by the different inocula. According to the phylogenetic analysis, the sequences from the dominant Chloroflexi were positioned in branches where no sequences of the cultured representative strains were placed. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis performed in two of the reactors showed filamentous morphology of the hybridizing cells. Conclusions: While members of the Anaerolineae class within phylum Chloroflexi were predominant, their diversity is still poorly described in anaerobic reactors. Due to their filamentous morphology, Chloroflexi may have a key role in the granulation in methanogenic UASB reactors. Significance and Impact of the Study: Our results bring new insights about the diversity, stability, dynamics and abundance of this phylum in full‐scale UASB reactors which aid in understanding their function within the reactor biomass. However, new methodological approaches and analysis of bulking biomass are needed to completely unravel their role in these reactors. Combining all this knowledge with reactor operational parameters will allow to understand their participation in granulation and bulking episodes and design strategies to prevent Chloroflexi overgrowth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phototrophic organisms such as cyanobacteria utilize the sun’s energy to convert atmospheric carbon dioxide into organic carbon, resulting in diurnal variations in the cell’s metabolism. Flux balance analysis is a widely accepted constraint-based optimization tool for analyzing growth and metabolism, but it is generally used in a time-invariant manner with no provisions for sequestering different biomass components at different time periods. Here we present CycleSyn, a periodic model of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 metabolism that spans a 12-hr light/12-hr dark cycle by segmenting it into 12 Time Point Models (TPMs) with a uniform duration of two hours. The developed framework allows for the flow of metabolites across TPMs while inventorying metabolite levels and only allowing for the utilization of currently or previously produced compounds. The 12 TPMs allow for the incorporation of time-dependent constraints that capture the cyclic nature of cellular processes. Imposing bounds on reactions informed by temporally-segmented transcriptomic data enables simulation of phototrophic growth as a single linear programming (LP) problem. The solution provides the time varying reaction fluxes over a 24-hour cycle and the accumulation/consumption of metabolites. The diurnal rhythm of metabolic gene expression driven by the circadian clock and its metabolic consequences is explored. Predicted flux and metabolite pools are in line with published studies regarding the temporal organization of phototrophic growth in Synechocystis PCC 6803 paving the way for constructing time-resolved genome-scale models (GSMs) for organisms with a circadian clock. In addition, the metabolic reorganization that would be required to enable Synechocystis PCC 6803 to temporally separate photosynthesis from oxygen-sensitive nitrogen fixation is also explored using the developed model formalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • This paper reports for the first time the light-aerobic condition for PSB-MBR. • The best performances were achieved under light-aerobic condition. • The highest abundance of Proteobacteria was obtained under light-aerobic condition. • The microbial diversity was lower when light and oxygen co-existed. Abstract The combined photosynthetic bacteria (PSB) and membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology has the great advantage of simultaneously realizing wastewater purification and bio-resource recovery and has attracted increasing attention in recent years. Light-oxygen conditions are the most vital factor in wastewater treatment. The special light-aerobic condition was first applied to PSB-MBR wastewater treatment, and it was compared with three typical light-oxygen conditions. The results showed that the highest chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency (96.28%) and the highest biomass production (1.12 g/L/d) were simultaneously obtained under light-aerobic condition. This phenomenon overcame the limitations whereby optimal pollutant removal and bio-resource recovery could not be achieved at the same time. An analysis of the microbial community showed that different light-oxygen conditions caused large variations in the microbial community composition of PSB-MBR. The microbial diversity was lower when light and oxygen co-existed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hot spring associated phototrophic microbial mats are purely microbial communities, in which phototrophic bacteria function as primary producers and thus shape the community. The microbial mats at Nakabusa hot springs in Japan harbor diverse photosynthetic bacteria, mainly Thermosynechococcus, Chloroflexus, and Roseiflexus, which use light of different wavelength for energy conversion. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of the phototrophs on biodiversity and community composition in hot spring microbial mats. For this, we specifically activated the different phototrophs by irradiating the mats with different wavelengths in situ. We used 625, 730, and 890 nm wavelength LEDs alone or in combination and confirmed the hypothesized increase in relative abundance of different phototrophs by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In addition to the increase of the targeted phototrophs, we studied the effect of the different treatments on chemotrophic members. The specific activation of Thermosynechococcus led to increased abundance of several other bacteria, whereas wavelengths specific to Chloroflexus and Roseiflexus induced a decrease in >50% of the community members as compared to the dark conditions. This suggests that the growth of Thermosynechococcus at the surface layer benefits many community members, whereas less benefit is obtained from an increase in filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs Chloroflexus and Roseiflexus. The increases in relative abundance of chemotrophs under different light conditions suggest a relationship between the two groups. Aerobic chemoheterotrophs such as Thermus sp. and Meiothermus sp. are thought to benefit from aerobic conditions and organic carbon in the form of photosynthates by Thermosynechococcus, while the oxidation of sulfide and production of elemental sulfur by filamentous anoxygenic phototrophs benefit the sulfur-disproportionating Caldimicrobium thiodismutans. In this study, we used an experimental approach under controlled environmental conditions for the analysis of natural microbial communities, which proved to be a powerful tool to study interspecies relationships in the microbiome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of life on Earth depends directly or indirectly on the sun as a source of energy. The initial step of photosynthesis is facilitated by light-harvesting complexes, which capture and transfer light energy into the reaction centers (RCs). Here, we analyzed the organization of photosynthetic (PS) complexes in the bacterium G. phototrophica, which so far is the only phototrophic representative of the bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadetes. The isolated complex has a molecular weight of about 800 ± 100 kDa, which is approximately 2 times larger than the core complex of Rhodospirillum rubrum. The complex contains 62.4 ± 4.7 bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a molecules absorbing in 2 distinct infrared absorption bands with maxima at 816 and 868 nm. Using femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy, we determined the energy transfer time between these spectral bands as 2 ps. Single particle analyses of the purified complexes showed that they were circular structures with an outer diameter of approximately 18 nm and a thickness of 7 nm. Based on the obtained, we propose that the LH complexes in G. phototrophica form 2 concentric rings surrounding the type 2 RC. The inner ring (corresponding to the B868 absorption band) is composed of 15 subunits and is analogous to the inner light-harvesting complex 1 (LH1) in purple bacteria. The outer ring is composed of 15 more distant BChl dimers with no or slow energy transfer between them, resulting in the B816 absorption band. This completely unique and elegant organization offers good structural stability, as well as high efficiency of light harvesting. Our results reveal that while the PS apparatus of Gemmatimonadetes was acquired via horizontal gene transfer from purple bacteria, it later evolved along its own pathway, devising a new arrangement of its light harvesting complexes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The meromictic Lake Cadagno is characterized by a compact chemocline with high concentrations of anoxygenic phototrophic purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) and green sulfur bacteria (GSB). The co-occurrence of phylogenetically distant bacterial groups such as PSB and GSB in the same ecological niche, makes the chemocline of Lake Cadagno an ideal system for studying the conditions and consequences of coexistence of photosynthetic bacteria populations. In this study, we applied flow cytometry (FCM) as a fast tool to identify metabolic changes due to the production and consumption of inclusion bodies such as sulfur globules (SGBs), and follow population dynamics of closely related anoxygenic photosynthetic sulfur bacteria in their natural environment. Large-celled PSB Chromatium okenii and GSB Chlorobium populations were reliably separated and identified due to differences in auto-fluorescence and cell size. Moreover, we showed that these dominant taxa share the same ecological niche over seasonal periods. Taking advantage of FCM detection of dynamic cellular complexity variation during phases of photosynthetic activity, we identified an unexpected alternation in PSB versus GSB metabolic activity, indicating dynamic interspecific interactions between these two populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The branched-chain sugar apiose was widely assumed to be synthesized only by plant species. In plants, apiose-containing polysaccharides are found in vascularized plant cell walls as the pectic polymers rhamnogalacturonan II and apiogalacturonan. Apiosylated secondary metabolites are also common in many plant species including ancestral avascular bryophytes and green algae. Apiosyl-residues have not been documented in bacteria. In a screen for new bacterial glycan structures, we detected small amounts of apiose in methanolic extracts of the aerobic phototroph Geminicoccus roseus and the pathogenic soil-dwelling bacteria Xanthomonas pisi. Apiose was also present in the cell pellet of X. pisi. Examination of these bacterial genomes uncovered genes with relatively low protein homology to plant UDP-apiose/UDP-xylose synthase (UAS). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these bacterial UAS-like homologs belong in a clade distinct to UAS and separated from other nucleotide sugar biosynthetic enzymes. Recombinant expression of three bacterial UAS-like proteins demonstrates that they actively convert UDP-glucuronic acid to UDP-apiose and UDP-xylose. Both UDP-apiose and UDP-xylose were detectable in cell cultures of G. roseus and X. pisi. We could not, however, definitively identify the apiosides made by these bacteria, but the detection of apiosides coupled with the in vivo transcription of bUAS and production of UDP-apiose clearly demonstrate that these microbes have evolved the ability to incorporate apiose into glycans during their lifecycles. While this is the first report to describe enzymes for the formation of activated apiose in bacteria, the advantage of synthesizing apiose-containing glycans in bacteria remains unknown. The characteristics of bUAS and its products are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is perhaps best known as a toxic gas, the electron-rich H2S functions as an energy source and electron donor for chemolithotrophic and photosynthetic bacteria, via sulfide oxidation, and is a universal substrate for cysteine biosynthesis. These distinct harmful and beneficial roles of H2S suggest the need to 'sense' prevailing concentrations of sulfide and downstream reactive sulfur species (RSS) and regulate the expression of genes mediating sulfide homeostasis. The paper by Li et al. in this issue of Molecular Microbiology adds Cupriavidus FisR to an expanding repertoire of regulatory mechanisms that bacteria have evolved to sense cellular RSS and mitigate their deleterious effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Azo dyes are very resistant to light-induced fading and biodegradation. Existing advanced oxidative pre-treatment methods based on the generation of non-selective radicals cannot efficiently remove these dyes from wastewater streams, and post-treatment oxidative dye removal is problematic because it may leave many byproducts with unknown toxicity profiles in the outgoing water, or cause expensive complete mineralization. These problems could potentially be overcome by combining photocatalysis and biodegradation. A novel visible-light-responsive hybrid dye removal agent featuring both photocatalysts (g-C3N4-P25) and photosynthetic bacteria encapsulated in calcium alginate beads was prepared by self-assembly. This system achieved a removal efficiency of 94% for the dye reactive brilliant red X-3b and also reduced the COD of synthetic wastewater samples by 84.7%, successfully decolorized synthetic dye-contaminated wastewater and reduced its COD, demonstrating the advantages of combining photocatalysis and biocatalysis for wastewater purification. The composite apparently degrades X-3b by initially converting the dye into aniline and phenol derivatives whose aryl moieties are then attacked by free radicals to form alkyl derivatives, preventing the accumulation of aromatic hydrocarbons that might suppress microbial activity. These alkyl intermediates are finally degraded by the photosynthetic bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of oxygen ca. 2.3 billion years ago (Ga) is the most distinct environmental transition in Earth history. This event was enabled by the evolution of oxygenic photosynthesis in the ancestors of Cyanobacteria. However, long-standing questions concern the evolutionary timing of this metabolism, with conflicting answers spanning more than one billion years. Recently, knowledge of the Cyanobacteria phylum has expanded with the discovery of non-photosynthetic members, including a closely related sister group termed Melainabacteria, with the known oxygenic phototrophs restricted to a clade recently designated Oxyphotobacteria. By integrating genomic data from the Melainabacteria, cross-calibrated Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses show that crown group Oxyphotobacteria evolved ca. 2.0 billion years ago (Ga), well after the rise of atmospheric dioxygen. We further estimate the divergence between Oxyphotobacteria and Melainabacteria ca. 2.5-2.6 Ga, which-if oxygenic photosynthesis is an evolutionary synapomorphy of the Oxyphotobacteria-marks an upper limit for the origin of oxygenic photosynthesis. Together, these results are consistent with the hypothesis that oxygenic photosynthesis evolved relatively close in time to the rise of oxygen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are considered key players in hydrological cycles of many arid environments. The phototrophic organisms in these crusts excrete extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs), which bind soil particles together, thereby stabilizing the soil surface. In a previous work, the non-invasive extraction of EPSs in biocrusts resulted in a change of their hydrological behavior. As this was suspected to be the effect of a change in their pore structure, we employed high resolution X-ray micro-tomography to investigate structural changes of biocrusts after EPS-extraction. We studied biocrusts from four different study sites in Svalbard, Germany, Israel and South Africa. Two different fractions of EPSs (tightly bound and colloidal) were extracted, using the same extraction method with two different solvents. Our results suggest that the extraction of EPSs did not result in structural differences at a resolution of 7 μm. We therefore conclude that the previously observed change in hydrological behavior is likely to be the result of a change of the physico-chemical properties of the very surface of the crust, rather than of its inner structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apocarotenoids are carotenoid-derived compounds widespread in all major taxonomic groups, where they play important roles in different physiological processes. In addition, apocarotenoids include compounds with high economic value in food and cosmetics industries. Apocarotenoid biosynthesis starts with the action of carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs), a family of non-heme iron enzymes that catalyze the oxidative cleavage of carbon-carbon double bonds in carotenoid backbones through a similar molecular mechanism, generating aldehyde or ketone groups in the cleaving ends. From the identification of the first CCD enzyme in plants, an increasing number of CCDs have been identified in many other species, including microorganisms, proving to be a ubiquitously distributed and evolutionarily conserved enzymatic family. This review focuses on CCDs from plants, algae, fungi, and bacteria, describing recent progress in their functions and regulatory mechanisms in relation to the different roles played by the apocarotenoids in these organisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential impact of cyanobacteria and microalgae on the weathering of calcareous tesserae from a Roman mosaic of the II Century CE has been followed through in vitro experiments. Laboratory tests were carried out by inoculating mosaic tiles with single strains of Cyanobacteria or Chlorophyta to evaluate the roles of pioneer phototrophic microrganism on the resulting architecture of biofilms. The interaction between tesserae and strains was assessed at the whole substratum and micrometer scales, by image analysis and Confocal Laser Scanning (CLS) microscopy, respectively. The biofilm surface coverage on each tessera varied from 19% (Fischerella ambigua) to 97% (Microcoleus autumnalis). Cyanobacteria showed a better growth on calcareous tesserae, whereas the only green alga attaining a superficial coverage higher than 50% was Coelastrella rubescens. CLS microscopy evidenced two different types of spatial arrangement of the phototrophic organisms on the tesserae, that were defined as compact or porous, respectively. In the first one was measured a reduced number of empty spaces between cells or filaments, whereas in the second type, a reticulate texture allowed the presence of numerous empty volumes. The colonization processes observed are an intrinsic characteristic of each strain. We have proposed a colonization index IC as a sensible tool to describe, in a quantitative way, the pioneering attitude of each photosynthetic microorganism to colonize lithic substrates under laboratory conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phototrophic bacterium Rhodobacter sphaeroides induces several small RNAs (sRNAs) when singlet oxygen (1O2) levels are elevated, a situation also referred to as photo-oxidative stress. An RNA-seq study identified the RSs0019 sRNA, which is renamed Pos19 (hoto-xidative stress induced RNA 19). Pos19 is part of the RpoE regulon and consequently induced upon 1O2 and peroxide stress. The 219 nt long Pos19 transcript contains a small open reading frame (sORF) of 150 nt, which is translated in vivo. Over-expression of Pos19 results in reduced mRNA levels for several genes, of which numerous are involved in sulfur metabolism. The negative effect on the potential targets is maintained even when translation of the sORF is abolished, arguing that regulation is entailed by the sRNA itself. Reporter studies further revealed that regulation of the most affected mRNA, namely RSP_0557, by Pos19 is Hfq-dependent. Direct binding of Pos19 to Hfq was shown by co-immunoprecipitation. Physiological experiments indicated Pos19 to be involved in the balance of glutathione biosynthesis. Moreover, a lack of Pos19 leads to elevated reactive oxygen species levels. Taken together our data identify the sRNA Pos19 as a coding sRNA with a distinct expression pattern and potential role under oxidative stress in the phototrophic bacterium R. sphaeroides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structure of the bacterial photosynthetic reaction center ( RC) reveals symmetry-related electron transfer ( ET) pathways, but only one path is used in native RCs. Analogous mutations have been made in two Rhodobacter ( R.) species. A glutamic acid at position 133 in the M subunit increases transmembrane charge separation via the naturally inactive (B-side) path through impacts on primary ET in mutant R. sphaeroides RCs. Prior work showed that the analogous substitution in the R. capsulatus RC also increases B-side activity, but mainly affects secondary ET. The overall yields of transmembrane ET are similar, but enabled in fundamentally different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) is a biopolyester/bioplastic that is produced by a variety of microorganisms to store carbon and increase reducing redox potential. Photosynthetic bacteria convert carbon dioxide into organic compounds using light energy and are known to accumulate PHA. We analyzed PHAs synthesized by 3 purple sulfur bacteria and 9 purple non-sulfur bacteria strains. These 12 purple bacteria were cultured in nitrogen-limited medium containing acetate and/or sodium bicarbonate as carbon sources. PHA production in the purple sulfur bacteria was induced by nitrogen-limited conditions. Purple non-sulfur bacteria accumulated PHA even under normal growth conditions, and PHA production in 3 strains was enhanced by nitrogen-limited conditions. Gel permeation chromatography analysis revealed that 5 photosynthetic purple bacteria synthesized high-molecular-weight PHAs, which are useful for industrial applications. Quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed that mRNA levels of phaC and PhaZ genes were low under nitrogen-limited conditions, resulting in production of high-molecular-weight PHAs. We conclude that all 12 tested strains are able to synthesize PHA to some degree, and we identify 5 photosynthetic purple bacteria that accumulate high-molecular-weight PHA molecules. Furthermore, the photosynthetic purple bacteria synthesized PHA when they were cultured in seawater supplemented with acetate. The photosynthetic purple bacteria strains characterized in this study should be useful as host microorganisms for large-scale PHA production utilizing abundant marine resources and carbon dioxide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lichens, self-supporting mutualistic associations between a fungal partner and one or more photosynthetic partners, also harbor non-photosynthetic bacteria. The diversity and contribution of these bacteria to the functioning of lichen symbiosis have recently begun to be studied, often by culture-independent techniques due to difficulties in their isolation and culture. However, culturing as yet unculturable lichenic bacteria is critical to unravel their potential functional roles in lichen symbiogenesis, to explore and exploit their biotechnological potential and for the description of new taxa. Our objective was to improve the recovery of lichen associated bacteria by developing novel isolation and culture approaches, initially using the lichen Pseudevernia furfuracea. We evaluated the effect of newly developed media enriched with novel lichen extracts, as well as the influence of thalli washing time and different disinfection and processing protocols of thalli. The developed methodology included: i) the use of lichen enriched media to mimic lichen nutrients, supplemented with the fungicide natamycin; ii) an extended washing of thalli to increase the recovery of ectolichenic bacteria, thus allowing the disinfection of thalli to be discarded, hence enhancing endolichenic bacteria recovery; and iii) the use of an antioxidant buffer to prevent or reduce oxidative stress during thalli disruption. The optimized methodology allowed significant increases in the number and diversity of culturable bacteria associated with P. furfuracea, and it was also successfully applied to the lichens Ramalina farinacea and Parmotrema pseudotinctorum. Furthermore, we provide, for the first time, data on the abundance of culturable ecto- and endolichenic bacteria that naturally colonize P. furfuracea, R. farinacea and P. pseudotinctorum, some of which were only able to grow on lichen enriched media. This innovative methodology is also applicable to other microorganisms inhabiting these and other lichen species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacteria are a group of light harvesting prokaryotic microorganisms displaying a vast diversity in terms of their morphology, physiology, and metabolic capabilities, which appear to be important factors for their survival in diverse ecological niches. The metabolism of cyanobacteria does not fit well into a linear understanding of generalized photosynthetic microorganisms. In addition to the water oxidizing photosynthesis accomplished by coupling photosystem I and photosystem II activities, they also possess intersecting photosynthetic and respiratory electron transport chains in thylakoid membranes which help them to adjust electron flow in the membranes and linked energy metabolism as per the need or demand of the situation. The cyanobacteria have an incomplete tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle as they lack 2-oxoglutarate dehydrogenase. However, the enzymes, 2-oxoglutarate decarboxylase and succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase encoded by their genes convert 2-oxoglutarate to succinate, and thereby use this shunt pathway not only to support the cells to maintain production of reducing equivalents (NADPH), but also to provide unique flexibility to its metabolic system that manifested in their various functions some of which are being progressively understood. The existence of unusual TCA cycle shunt in cyanobacteria opens up a new research avenue for engineering cyanobacteria for biotechnological applications including production of various biofuels of high commercial interest. The unique respiratory metabolisms could also be exploited to generate electrogenic cyanobacterial cells for production of bioelectricity in a fuelcell setup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND The anoxygenic photosynthetic bacteria ( APB) process is considered the most promising candidate for cost-effective wastewater treatment and resource recovery. One major problem in the APB process with sulfate-containing wastewater is the overgrowth of sulfate-reducing bacteria. In this study, the humic analog anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate ( AQDS) was used to selectively inhibit sulfate-reducing bacteria ( SRB) in an SRB and APB coculture. RESULTS The addition of 1.0 mmol L−1 AQDS to the SRB and APB coculture resulted in significant decreases in the amount of SRB and the sulfide concentration, whereas the number of APB increased from 3.7 × 103 to 3.1 × 108 CFU mL−1. A high concentration of AQDS negatively affected the growth of both SRB and APB but more strongly inhibited the growth of SRB. The inhibition of SRB by AQDS relies on an electron donor and is enhanced by illumination. AQDS treatment at 1.0 mmol L−1 induced significant membrane depolarization and superoxide production in SRB cells but not in APB cells, and this may be responsible for the selective inhibition of SRB in the coculture. CONCLUSION At appropriate concentrations, AQDS can decrease the concentration of sulfide and induce oxidative stress for SRB, effectively allowing APB to out-compete SRB under microaerobic conditions. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The homodimeric type I reaction center in heliobacteria is arguably the simplest known pigmentâ€"protein complex capable of conducting (bacterio)chlorophyll-based conversion of light into chemical energy. Despite its structural simplicity, the thermodynamics of the electron transfer cofactors on the acceptor side have not been fully investigated. In this work, we measured the midpoint potential of the terminal [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster (FX) in reaction centers from Heliobacterium modesticaldum. The FX cluster was titrated chemically and monitored by (i) the decrease in the level of stable P800 photobleaching by optical spectroscopy, (ii) the loss of the light-induced g â 2 radical from P800+• following a single-turnover flash, (iii) the increase in the low-field resonance at 140 mT attributed to the S = 3/2 ground spin state of FXâ€", and (iv) the loss of the spin-correlated P800+ FXâ€" radical pair following a single-turnover flash. These four techniques led to similar estimations of the midpoint potential for FX of âs'502 ± 3 mV (n = 0.99), â?'496 ± 2 mV (n = 0.99), â?'517 ± 10 mV (n = 0.65), and â?'501 ± 4 mV (n = 0.84), respectively, with a consensus value of â?'504 ± 10 mV (converging to n = 1). Under conditions in which FX is reduced, the long-lived (~15 ms) P800+ FXâ€" state is replaced by a rapidly recombining (~15 ns) P800+A0â€" state, as shown by ultrafast optical experiments. There was no evidence of the presence of a P800+ A1â€" spin-correlated radical pair by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) under these conditions. The midpoint potentials of the two [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ clusters in the low-molecular mass ferredoxins were found to be â?'480 ± 11 mV/â€"524 ± 13 mV for PshBI, â?'453 ± 6 mV/â€"527 ± 6 mV for PshBII, and â?'452 ± 5 mV/â€"533 ± 8 mV for HM1_2505 as determined by EPR spectroscopy. FX is therefore suitably poised to reduce one [4Fe-4S]2+/1+ cluster in these mobile electron carriers. Using the measured midpoint potential of FX and a quasi-equilibrium model of charge recombination, the midpoint potential of A0 was estimated to be â?'854 mV at room temperature. The midpoint potentials of A0 and FX are therefore 150â€"200 mV less reducing than their respective counterparts in Photosystem I of cyanobacteria and plants. This places the redox potential of the FX cluster in heliobacteria approximately equipotential to the highest-potential ironâ€"sulfur cluster (FA) in Photosystem I, consistent with its assignment as the terminal electron acceptor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bacteriophytochrome photoreceptors (BphPs) and their cognate response regulators make up two-component signal transduction systems which direct bacteria to mount phenotypic responses to changes in environmental light quality. Most of these systems utilize single-domain response regulators to transduce signals through unknown pathways and mechanisms. Here we describe the photocycle and autophosphorylation kinetics of RtBphP1, a red light-regulated histidine kinase from the desert bacterium Ramlibacter tataouinensis. RtBphP1 undergoes red to far-red photoconversion with rapid thermal reversion to the dark state. RtBphP1 is autophosphorylated in the dark; this activity is inhibited under red light. The RtBphP1 cognate response regulator, the R. tataouinensis bacteriophytochrome response regulator (RtBRR), and a homolog, AtBRR from Agrobacterium tumefaciens, crystallize unexpectedly as arm-in-arm dimers, reliant on a conserved hydrophobic motif, hFWAhL (where h is a hydrophobic M, V, L, or I residue). RtBRR and AtBRR dimerize distinctly from four structurally characterized phytochrome response regulators found in photosynthetic organisms and from all other receiver domain homodimers in the Protein Data Bank. A unique cacodylate-zinc-histidine tag metal organic framework yielded single-wavelength anomalous diffraction phases and may be of general interest. Examination of the effect of the BRR stoichiometry on signal transduction showed that phosphorylated RtBRR is accumulated more efficiently than the engineered monomeric RtBRR (RtBRRmon) in phosphotransfer reactions. Thus, we conclude that arm-in-arm dimers are a relevant signaling intermediate in this class of two-component regulatory systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photosynthesis originated in the domain Bacteria billions of years ago; however, the identity of the last common ancestor to all phototrophic bacteria remains undetermined and speculative. Here I present the evolution of BchF or 3-vinyl-bacteriochlorophyll hydratase, an enzyme exclusively found in bacteria capable of synthetizing bacteriochlorophyll a. I show that BchF exists in two forms originating from an early divergence, one found in the phylum Chlorobi, including its paralogue BchV, and a second form that was ancestral to the enzyme found in the remaining anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria. The phylogeny of BchF is consistent with bacteriochlorophyll a evolving in an ancestral phototrophic bacterium that lived before the radiation event that gave rise to the phylum Chloroflexi, Chlorobi, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Gemmatimonadetes, but only after the divergence of Type I and Type II reaction centers. Consequently, it is suggested that the lack of phototrophy in many groups of extant bacteria is a derived trait. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photosynthetic bradyrhizobia are able to use a Nod-factor independent process to induce nitrogen-fixing nodules on some semi-aquatic Aeschynomene species. These bacteria display a unique LPS O-antigen composed of a new sugar, the bradyrhizose that is regarded as a key symbiotic factor due to its non-immunogenic character. In this study, to check this hypothesis, we isolated mutants affected in the O-antigen synthesis by screening a transposon mutant library of the ORS285 strain for clones altered in colony morphology. Over the 10,000 mutants screened, five were selected and found to be mutated in two genes, rfaL, encoding for a putative O-antigen ligase and gdh encoding for a putative dTDP-glucose 4,6-dehydratase. Biochemical analysis confirmed that the LPS of these mutants completely lack the O-antigen region. However, no effect of the mutations could be detected on the symbiotic properties of the mutants indicating that the O-antigen region of photosynthetic Bradyrhizobium strains is not required for the establishment of symbiosis with Aeschynomene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bloom-forming cyanobacteria species M icrocystis aeruginosa includes toxic and non-toxic (microcystin-producing) strains. Certain stress conditions stimulate synthesis of microcystin ( MCYST) and enhance the binding of the MCYST molecule to proteins. In this quantitative proteomic study, we compared the response of a wild-type toxic strain PCC 7806, an mcyH− knockout non-toxic strain, and a naturally occurring non-toxic strain, PCC 7005, after 8 days in low iron ( Fe) and nitrogen ( N) starvation in order to assess the benefit of MCYST synthesis in non-optimal conditions. Fe limitation increased MCYST synthesis and caused an accumulation of phycobilisome proteins and the ferric iron transporter FutA only in the toxic PCC 7806 but not the non-toxic strains. In N starvation, photosynthetic, C and N metabolism proteins were more abundant in the non-toxic strains, as were chaperones and proteases. Significant interaction between nutrient availability and toxicity existed for thioredoxin peroxidase and several thioredoxin-regulated proteins. We propose a competition of MCYST for binding sites in thioredoxin-regulated proteins during oxidative stress (low Fe) but not in growth-limiting conditions (low N). This then leads to differences in the regulation of C: N metabolism in toxic and non-toxic M . aeruginosa in nutrient-replete and nutrient-limited conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyanobacteria are generally thought to be responsible for primary production and nitrogen fixation in the microbial communities that dominate Antarctic ecosystems. Recent studies of bacterial communities in terrestrial Antarctica, however, have shown that Cyanobacteria are sometimes only scarcely present, suggesting that other bacteria presumably take over their role as primary producers and diazotrophs. The diversity of key genes in these processes was studied in surface samples from the Sør Rondane Mountains, Dronning Maud Land, using clone libraries of the large subunit of ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO) genes ( cbbL, cbbM) and dinitrogenase-reductase ( nifH) genes. We recovered a large diversity of non-cyanobacterial cbbL type IC in addition to cyanobacterial type IB, suggesting that non-cyanobacterial autotrophs may contribute to primary production. The nifH diversity recovered was predominantly related to Cyanobacteria, particularly members of the Nostocales. We also investigated the occurrence of proteorhodopsin and anoxygenic phototrophy as mechanisms for non-Cyanobacteria to exploit solar energy. While proteorhodopsin genes were not detected, a large diversity of genes coding for the light and medium subunits of the type 2 phototrophic reaction center ( pufLM) was observed, suggesting for the first time, that the aerobic photoheterotrophic lifestyle may be important in oligotrophic high-altitude ice-free terrestrial Antarctic habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early community assembly of fungi and bacteria differ in many ways, including their contrasting successional trajectories. We examined if fungal and bacterial primary successional dynamics are phylogenetically constrained. Microbial communities were queried across a recently deglaciated forefront using three measures of phylogenetic diversity. We analyzed these data at the Kingdom (fungi) and Domain (bacteria) levels plus at less-inclusive taxonomic hierarchies (Phylum and Class) as well as selected, well-defined functional groups (N-fixing and photosynthetic bacteria). Fungi and bacteria differed in their phylogenetic distributions across successional age. Phylogenetic diversity estimates did not change over successional age for fungi, whereas bacteria were strongly structured phylogenetically over successional age. Further, our results suggest that analyses at Kingdom or Domain levels may prove inadequate to understand successional dynamics. Investigations should include both broad (Kingdom or Domain) and less inclusive groups (perhaps metabolically distinct taxa) to better dissect community dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical studies predict that competition for limited resources reduces biodiversity to the point of ecological instability, whereas strong predator/prey interactions enhance the number of coexisting species and limit fluctuations in abundances. In open ocean ecosystems, competition for low availability of essential nutrients results in relatively few abundant microbial species. The remarkable stability in overall cell abundance of the dominant photosynthetic cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is assumed to reflect a simple food web structure strongly controlled by grazers and/or viruses. This hypothesized link between stability and ecological interactions, however, has been difficult to test with open ocean microbes because sampling methods commonly have poor temporal and spatial resolution. Here we use continuous techniques on two different winter-time cruises to show that Prochlorococcus cell production and mortality rates are tightly synchronized to the day/night cycle across the subtropical Pacific Ocean. In warmer waters, we observed harmonic oscillations in cell production and mortality rates, with a peak in mortality rate consistently occurring ∼6 h after the peak in cell production. Essentially no cell mortality was observed during daylight. Our results are best explained as a synchronized two-component trophic interaction with the per-capita rates of Prochlorococcus consumption driven either directly by the day/night cycle or indirectly by Prochlorococcus cell production. Light-driven synchrony of food web dynamics in which most of the newly produced Prochlorococcus cells are consumed each night likely enforces ecosystem stability across vast expanses of the open ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two aerobic Gram staining negative, non-motile, and rod-shaped strains, DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1, were isolated from an oil production mixture from Daqing Oilfield, northeastern China. Phylogenetic analysis based on the nearly complete 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed that strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1 were members of family Rhodobacteraceae, which showed 95.6-95.9 % of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities with Pararhodobacter aggregans DSM 18938, Rhodobacter veldkampii CGMCC 1.5006, and Roseinatronobacter thiooxidans DSM 13087, and lower similarities (<95.1 %) with all the left type species. Growth of strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1 occurred at pH 7-8, 15-45 °C, and 0-4 % (w/v) of NaCl. The strains could grow both in dark and in light, but neither photosynthetic pigments nor photosynthetic reaction center gene pufM were detected in the strains. These photosynthesis-related features of the two isolates were different from those of Rhodobacter and Roseinatronobacter bacteria, but similar with those of Pararhodobacter. The genomic DNA G+C contents of strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1 were 66.9 and 63.7 mol%, respectively. The predominant ubiquinone was Q-10 for both the strains. The major polar lipids of strain DQW12E81-30 were phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine, unidentified aminolipid, unidentified glycolipid, and unidentified phospholipid. The two strains had C ω7 c, C, and C ω7 c 11-methyl as the major fatty acids. In addition, the strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1 had C ω7 c/C ω6 c, C, C, C 3-OH/C iso I, C 3-OH, which were remarkably different from those of Pararhodobacter and Roseinatronobacter. The results of phenotypic, genotypic, and chemotaxonomic characteristics analyses indicated that strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1 were readily different from their most phylogenetically closely related genera. Plastorhodobacter daqingensis gen. nov, sp. nov. is proposed for strains DQW12E81-30 and DQW12E6-37-1. The type strain is DQW12E81-30 (=LMG 27732=CGMCC 1.12750). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite an increasing number of studies over the last 15 years, aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic (AAP) bacteria remain a puzzling functional group in terms of physiology, metabolism, and ecology. To contribute to a better knowledge of their environmental distribution, the present study aims at analyzing their diversity and structure at the boundary between the Norwegian, Greenland, and Barents Seas. The polymorphism of a marker gene encoding a sub-unit of the photosynthetic apparatus (pufM gene) was analyzed and attempted to be related to environmental parameters. The Atlantic or Arctic origin of water masses had a strong impact on the AAP bacterial community structure whose populations mostly belonged to the Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria. A majority (> 60 %) of pufM sequences were affiliated to the Gammaproteobacteria reasserting that this class often represents the major component of the AAP bacterial community in oceanic regions. Two alphaproteobacterial groups dominate locally suggesting that they can constitute key players in this marine system transiently. We found that temperature is a major determinant of alpha diversity of AAP bacteria in this marine biome with specific clades emerging locally according to the partitioning of water masses. Whereas we expected specific AAP bacterial populations in this peculiar and newly explored ecosystem, most pufM sequences were highly related to sequences retrieved elsewhere. This observation highlights that the studied area does not favor AAP bacteria endemism but also opens new questions about the truthfulness of biogeographical patterns and on the extent of AAP bacterial diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (AAP) are abundant in the photic zone of the marine environment. Dinoroseobacter shibae, a representative of the Roseobacter group, converts light into additional energy that enhances its survival especially under starvation. However, light exposure results in the production of cytotoxic reactive oxygen species in AAPs. Here we investigated the response of D. shibae to starvation and oxidative stress, focusing on the role of extrachromosomal elements (ECRs). D. shibae possessing five ECRs (three plasmids and two chromids) was starved for 4 weeks either in the dark or under light/dark cycles and the survival was monitored. Transcriptomics showed that on the chromosome genes with a role in oxidative stress response and photosynthesis were differentially expressed during the light period. Most extrachromosomal genes in contrast showed a general loss of transcriptional activity, especially in dark-starved cells. The observed decrease of gene expression was not due to plasmid loss, as all five ECRs were maintained in the cells. Interestingly, the genes on the 72-kb chromid were the least downregulated, and one region with genes of the oxygen stress response and a light-dependent protochlorophyllide reductase of cyanobacterial origin was strongly activated under the light/dark cycle. A Δ72-kb curing mutant lost the ability to survive under starvation in a light/dark cycle demonstrating the essential role of this chromid for adaptation to starvation and oxidative stress. Our data moreover suggest that the other four ECRs of D. shibae have no vital function under the investigated conditions and therefore were transcriptionally silenced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]