Physiological and genomic characterization of two novel marine thaumarchaeal strains indicates niche differentiation

Autor(en)
Barbara Bayer, Jana Vojvoda, Pierre Offre, Ricardo Jorge Eloy Alves, Nathalie H. Elisabeth, Juan Al Garcia, Jean-Marie Volland, Abhishek Srivastava, Christa Schleper, Gerhard Herndl
Abstrakt

Ammonia-oxidizing Archaea (AOA) are ubiquitous throughout the oceanic water column; however, our knowledge on their physiological and ecological diversity in different oceanic regions is rather limited. Here, we report the cultivation and characterization of two novel Nitrosopumilus strains, originating from coastal surface waters of the Northern Adriatic Sea. The combined physiological and genomic information revealed that each strain exhibits different metabolic and functional traits, potentially reflecting contrasting life modes. Strain NF5 contains many chemotaxis-related genes and is able to express archaella, suggesting that it can sense and actively seek favorable microenvironments such as nutrient-rich particles. In contrast, strain D3C is non-motile and shows higher versatility in substrate utilization, being able to use urea as an alternative substrate in addition to ammonia. Furthermore, it encodes a divergent, second copy of the AmoB subunit of the key enzyme ammonia monooxygenase, which might have an additional catalytic function and suggests further metabolic versatility. However, the role of this gene requires further investigation. Our results provide evidence for functional diversity and metabolic versatility among phylogenetically closely related thaumarchaeal strains, and point toward adaptations to free-living versus particle-associated life styles and possible niche differentiation among AOA in marine ecosystems.

Organisation(en)
Department für Funktionelle und Evolutionäre Ökologie
Externe Organisation(en)
National Institute of Biology, Universität Wien
Journal
The ISME Journal: multidisciplinary journal of microbial ecology
Band
10
Seiten
1051-1063
Anzahl der Seiten
13
ISSN
1751-7362
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ismej.2015.200
Publikationsdatum
05-2016
Peer-reviewed
Ja
ÖFOS 2012
106022 Mikrobiologie
Schlagwörter
ASJC Scopus Sachgebiete
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics, Microbiology
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG 14 – Leben unter Wasser
Link zum Portal
https://ucris.univie.ac.at/portal/de/publications/physiological-and-genomic-characterization-of-two-novel-marine-thaumarchaeal-strains-indicates-niche-differentiation(4c536aa6-cdeb-4432-9e79-d3eae475eed0).html