Auto Tag: Carbon cycle

April 21, 2020  |  

Light Modulates the Physiology of Nonphototrophic Actinobacteria.

Light is a source of energy and an environmental cue that is available in excess in most surface environments. In prokaryotic systems, conversion of light to energy by photoautotrophs and photoheterotrophs is well understood, but the conversion of light to information and the cellular response to that information have been characterized in only a few species. Our goal was to explore the response of freshwater Actinobacteria, which are ubiquitous in illuminated aquatic environments, to light. We found that Actinobacteria without functional photosystems grow faster in the light, likely because sugar transport and metabolism are upregulated in the light. Based on the action spectrum of the growth effect and comparisons of the genomes of three Actinobacteria with this growth rate phenotype, we propose that the photosensor in these strains is a putative CryB-type cryptochrome. The ability to sense light and upregulate carbohydrate transport during the day could allow these cells to coordinate their time of maximum organic carbon uptake with the time of maximum organic carbon release by primary producers.IMPORTANCE Sunlight provides information about both place and time. In sunlit aquatic environments, primary producers release organic carbon and nitrogen along with other growth factors during the day. The ability of Actinobacteria to coordinate organic carbon uptake and utilization with production of photosynthate enables them to grow more efficiently in the daytime, and it potentially gives them a competitive advantage over heterotrophs that constitutively produce carbohydrate transporters, which is energetically costly, or produce transporters only after detection of the substrate(s), which delays their response. Understanding how light cues the transport of organic carbon and its conversion to biomass is key to understanding biochemical mechanisms within the carbon cycle, the fluxes through it, and the variety of mechanisms by which light enhances growth.Copyright © 2019 American Society for Microbiology.

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April 21, 2020  |  

Complete genome sequence and comparative analysis of Synechococcus sp. CS-601 (SynAce01), a cold-adapted cyanobacterium from an olligotrophic Antarctic habitat.

Marine picocyanobacteria belonging to Synechococcus are major contributors to the global carbon cycle, however the genomic information of its cold-adapted members has been lacking to date. To fill this void the genome of a cold-adapted planktonic cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. CS-601 (SynAce01) has been sequenced. The genome of the strain contains a single chromosome of approximately 2.75 MBp and GC content of 63.92%. Gene prediction yielded 2984 protein coding sequences and 44 tRNA genes. The genome contained evidence of horizontal gene transfer events during its evolution. CS-601 appears as a transport generalist with some specific adaptation to an oligotrophic marine environment. It has a broad repertoire of transporters of both inorganic and organic nutrients to survive in inhospitable environments. The cold adaptation of the strain exhibited characteristics of a psychrotroph rather than psychrophile. Its salt adaptation strategy is likely to rely on the uptake and synthesis of osmolytes, like glycerol or glycine betaine. Overall, the genome reveals two distinct patterns of adaptation to the inhospitable environment of Antarctica. Adaptation to an oligotrophic marine environment is likely due to an abundance of genes, probably acquired horizontally, that are associated with increased transport of nutrients, osmolytes, and light harvesting. On the other hand, adaptations to low temperatures are likely due to prolonged evolutionary changes.

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April 21, 2020  |  

Lignin catabolic pathways reveal unique characteristics of dye-decolorizing peroxidases in Pseudomonas putida.

Lignin is one of the largest carbon reservoirs in the environment, playing an important role in the global carbon cycle. However, lignin degradation in bacteria, especially non-model organisms, has not been well characterized either enzymatically or genetically. Here, a lignin-degrading bacterial strain, Pseudomonas putida A514, was used as the research model. Genomic and proteomic analyses suggested that two B subfamily dye-decolorizing peroxidases (DypBs) were prominent in lignin depolymerization, while the classic O2 -dependent ring cleavage strategy was utilized in central pathways to catabolize lignin-derived aromatic compounds that were funnelled by peripheral pathways. These enzymes, together with a range of transporters, sequential and expression-dose dependent regulation and stress response systems coordinated for lignin metabolism. Catalytic assays indicated these DypBs show unique Mn2+ independent lignin depolymerization activity, while Mn2+ oxidation activity is absent. Furthermore, a high synergy between DypB enzymes and A514 cells was observed to promote cell growth (5 × 1012 cfus/ml) and lignin degradation (27%). This suggested DypBs are competitive lignin biocatalysts and pinpointed limited extracellular secretion capacity as the rate-limiting factor in bacterial lignin degradation. DypB production was, therefore, optimized in recombinant strains and a 14,141-fold increase in DypB activity (56,565?U/l) was achieved, providing novel insights for lignin bioconversion. © 2019 Society for Applied Microbiology and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

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April 21, 2020  |  

Effect of sulfur-iron modified biochar on the available cadmium and bacterial community structure in contaminated soils.

Cadmium contamination in paddy soils has aroused increasing concern around the world, and biochar has many positive properties, such as large specific surface areas, micro porous structure for the heavy metal immobilization in soils. However there are few studies on sulfur-iron modified biochar as well as its microbiology effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the Cd immobilization effects of sulfur or sulfur-iron modified biochar and its related microbial community changes in Cd-contaminated soils. SEM-EDX analysis confirmed that sulfur and iron were loaded on the raw biochar successfully. Sulfur-modified biochar (S-BC) and sulfur-iron modified biochar (SF-BC) addition increased pH value and the content of soil organic matter, and also decreased DTPA-extractable Cd. There was a negative significant correlation between organic matter content and the available Cd (P?

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