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Comparative genomics of two 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' clades performing biological phosphorus removal.

ABSTRACT: Members of the genus Candidatus Accumulibacter are important in many wastewater treatment systems performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The Accumulibacter lineage can be subdivided phylogenetically into multiple clades, and previous work showed that these clades are ecologically distinct. The complete genome of Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis strain UW-1, a member of Clade IIA, was previously sequenced. Here, we report a draft genome sequence of Candidatus Accumulibacter spp. strain UW-2, a member of Clade IA, assembled following shotgun metagenomic sequencing of laboratory-scale bioreactor sludge. We estimate the genome to be 80-90% complete. Although the two clades share 16S rRNA sequence identity of >98.0%, we observed a remarkable lack of synteny between the two genomes. We identified 2317 genes shared between the two genomes, with an average nucleotide identity (ANI) of 78.3%, and accounting for 49% of genes in the UW-1 genome. Unlike UW-1, the UW-2 genome seemed to lack genes for nitrogen fixation and carbon fixation. Despite these differences, metabolic genes essential for denitrification and EBPR, including carbon storage polymer and polyphosphate metabolism, were conserved in both genomes. The ANI from genes associated with EBPR was statistically higher than that from genes not associated with EBPR, indicating a high selective pressure in EBPR systems. Further, we identified genomic islands of foreign origins including a near-complete lysogenic phage in the Clade IA genome. Interestingly, Clade IA appeared to be more phage susceptible based on it containing only a single Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats locus as compared with the two found in Clade IIA. Overall, the comparative analysis provided a genetic basis to understand physiological differences and ecological niches of Accumulibacter populations, and highlights the importance of diversity in maintaining system functional resilience.

SUBMITTER: Flowers JJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3834850 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Comparative genomics of two 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' clades performing biological phosphorus removal.

Flowers Jason J JJ He Shaomei S Malfatti Stephanie S del Rio Tijana Glavina TG Tringe Susannah G SG Hugenholtz Philip P McMahon Katherine D KD

The ISME journal 20130725 12

Members of the genus Candidatus Accumulibacter are important in many wastewater treatment systems performing enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). The Accumulibacter lineage can be subdivided phylogenetically into multiple clades, and previous work showed that these clades are ecologically distinct. The complete genome of Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis strain UW-1, a member of Clade IIA, was previously sequenced. Here, we report a draft genome sequence of Candidatus Accumulibacter ...[more]

PMID: 23887171

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Project description:To investigate the fine-scale diversity of the polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAO) "Candidatus Accumulibacter phosphatis" (henceforth referred to as "Ca. Accumulibacter"), two laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) for enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) were operated with sodium acetate as the sole carbon source. During SBR operations, activated sludge always contained morphologically different "Ca. Accumulibacter" strains showing typical EBPR performances, as confirmed by the combined technique of fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and microautoradiography (MAR). Fragments of "Ca. Accumulibacter" 16S rRNA genes were retrieved from the sludge. Phylogenetic analyses together with sequences from the GenBank database showed that "Ca. Accumulibacter" 16S rRNA genes of the EBPR sludge were clearly differentiated into four "Ca. Accumulibacter" clades, Acc-SG1, Acc-SG2, Acc-SG3, and Acc-SG4. The specific FISH probes Acc444, Acc184, Acc72, and Acc119 targeting these clades and some helpers and competitors were designed by using the ARB program. Microbial characterization by FISH analysis using specific FISH probes also clearly indicated the presence of different "Ca. Accumulibacter" cell morphotypes. Especially, members of Acc-SG3, targeted by probe Acc72, were coccobacillus-shaped cells with a size of approximately 2 to 3 mum, while members of Acc-SG1, Acc-SG2, and Acc-SG4, targeted by Acc444, Acc184, and Acc119, respectively, were coccus-shaped cells approximately 1 mum in size. Subsequently, cells targeted by each FISH probe were sorted by use of a flow cytometer, and their polyphosphate kinase 1 (ppk1) gene homologs were amplified by using a ppk1-specific PCR primer set for "Ca. Accumulibacter." The phylogenetic tree based on sequences of the ppk1 gene homologs was basically congruent with that of the 16S rRNA genes, but members of Acc-SG3 with a distinct morphology comprised two different ppk1 genes. These results suggest that "Ca. Accumulibacter" strains may be diverse physiologically and ecologically and represent distinct populations with genetically determined adaptations in EBPR systems.

Dataset Information

Comparative genomics of two 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' clades performing biological phosphorus removal.

Publications

Comparative genomics of two 'Candidatus Accumulibacter' clades performing biological phosphorus removal.

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