ABSTRACT: Prokaryotic responses to ammonium and organic carbon reveal alternative CO2 fixation pathways and importance of alkaline phosphatase in the mesopelagic North Atlantic
Project description:Relatively little is known about the presence and regulation of pathways involved in nutrient acquisition in the brown tide forming alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens. In this study, Long-SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) was used to profile the A. anophagefferens transcriptome under nutrient replete (control), and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiency with the goal of understanding how this organism responds at the transcriptional level to varying nutrient conditions. This approach has aided A. anophagefferens genome annotation efforts and identified a suite of genes up-regulated by N and P deficiency, some of which have known roles in nutrient metabolism. Genes up-regulated under N deficiency include an ammonium transporter, an acetamidase/formamidase, and two peptidases. This suggests an ability to utilize reduced N compounds and dissolved organic nitrogen, supporting the hypothesized importance of these N sources in A. anophagefferens bloom formation. There are also a broad suite of P-regulated genes, including an alkaline phosphatase, and two 5’-nucleotidases, suggesting A. anophagefferens may use dissolved organic phosphorus under low phosphate conditions. These N- and P-regulated genes may be important targets for exploring nutrient controls on bloom formation in field populations.
Project description:To study mixotrophy, it is desirable to have an organism capable of growth in the presence and absence of both organic and inorganic carbon sources, as well as organic and inorganic energy sources. Metallosphaera sedula is an extremely thermoacidophilic archaeon which has been shown to grow in the presence of inorganic carbon and energy source supplements (autotrophy), organic carbon and energy source supplements (heterotrophy), and in the presence of organic carbon and inorganic energy source supplements. The recent elucidation of M. sedula’s inorganic carbon fixation cycle and its genome sequence further facilitate its use in mixotrophic studies. In this study, we grow M. sedula heterotrophically in the presence of organic carbon and energy sources (0.1% tryptone), autotrophically in the presence of inorganic carbon and energy sources (H2 + CO2), and “mixotrophically” in the presence of both organic and inorganic carbon and energy sources (0.1% tryptone + H2 + CO2 ) to characterize the nature of mixotrophy exhibited.
Project description:Nitrogen fixation is an important metabolic process carried out by microorganisms, which converts molecular nitrogen into inorganic nitrogenous compounds such as ammonia (NH3). These nitrogenous compounds are crucial for biogeochemical cycles and for the synthesis of essential biomolecules, i.e. nucleic acids, amino acids and proteins. Azotobacter vinelandii is a bacterial non-photosynthetic model organism to study aerobic nitrogen fixation (diazotrophy) and hydrogen production. Moreover, the diazotroph can produce biopolymers like alginate and polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) that have important industrial applications. However, many metabolic processes such as partitioning of carbon and nitrogen metabolism in A. vinelandii remain unknown to date.
Genome-scale metabolic models (M-models) represent reliable tools to unravel and optimize metabolic functions at genome-scale. M-models are mathematical representations that contain information about genes, reactions, metabolites and their associations. M-models can simulate optimal reaction fluxes under a wide variety of conditions using experimentally determined constraints. Here we report on the development of a M-model of the wild type bacterium A. vinelandii DJ (iDT1278) which consists of 2,003 metabolites, 2,469 reactions, and 1,278 genes. We validated the model using high-throughput phenotypic and physiological data, testing 180 carbon sources and 95 nitrogen sources. iDT1278 was able to achieve an accuracy of 89% and 91% for growth with carbon sources and nitrogen source, respectively. This comprehensive M-model will help to comprehend metabolic processes associated with nitrogen fixation, ammonium assimilation, and production of organic nitrogen in an environmentally important microorganism.
Project description:Relatively little is known about the presence and regulation of pathways involved in nutrient acquisition in the brown tide forming alga, Aureococcus anophagefferens. In this study, Long-SAGE (Serial Analysis of Gene Expression) was used to profile the A. anophagefferens transcriptome under nutrient replete (control), and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deficiency with the goal of understanding how this organism responds at the transcriptional level to varying nutrient conditions. This approach has aided A. anophagefferens genome annotation efforts and identified a suite of genes up-regulated by N and P deficiency, some of which have known roles in nutrient metabolism. Genes up-regulated under N deficiency include an ammonium transporter, an acetamidase/formamidase, and two peptidases. This suggests an ability to utilize reduced N compounds and dissolved organic nitrogen, supporting the hypothesized importance of these N sources in A. anophagefferens bloom formation. There are also a broad suite of P-regulated genes, including an alkaline phosphatase, and two 5’-nucleotidases, suggesting A. anophagefferens may use dissolved organic phosphorus under low phosphate conditions. These N- and P-regulated genes may be important targets for exploring nutrient controls on bloom formation in field populations. Aureococcus anophagefferens CCMP 1984 was obtained from the Provasoli-Guillard Center for the Culture of Marine Phytoplankton (CCMP). The cultures were grown at 18C on a 14 h:10 h light:dark cycle (140 µmol quanta m-2 s-1). Nitrogen- and phosphate-replete (883 µM NO3- and 36.3 µM PO43-) cells, –N (40 µM NO3-) cells, and –P (1 µM PO43-) cells were grown in autoclaved L1 media with no Si (Guillard and Hargraves 1993), prepared using 0.2 µm filtered Vineyard Sound seawater. Vitamins (thiamine, biotin, and B12) were sterile filtered and added to the media after autoclaving. Replete cells were harvested during mid log phase of growth, while –N and –P cells were harvested at the onset of stationary phase when N or P was depleted.
Project description:Our paper presents the results of a study in which we used whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and RNA-Seq (i.e. transcriptomics) to examine the long-term epigenomic dynamics of an experimenta evolution study under high CO2 in the marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. We identify m5C methylated sites that rapidly change in response to short-term high CO2 exposure, which are then maintained for 4.5 years even after adaptation (i.e. trait canalization). After 7 years of CO2 selection, high-CO2 triggered methylation levels return to ancestral, low-CO2 levels, consistent with genetic assimilation theory and observations in eukaryotic model systems. These data suggest a potential role for m5C methylation in prokaryotic trait canalization and identify genetic assimilation as an evolutionary mechanism of potential biogeochemical importance under global change factors.
Project description:Our paper presents the results of a study in which we used whole genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and RNA-Seq (i.e. transcriptomics) to examine the long-term epigenomic dynamics of an experimenta evolution study under high CO2 in the marine cyanobacterium Trichodesmium. We identify m5C methylated sites that rapidly change in response to short-term high CO2 exposure, which are then maintained for 4.5 years even after adaptation (i.e. trait canalization). After 7 years of CO2 selection, high-CO2 triggered methylation levels return to ancestral, low-CO2 levels, consistent with genetic assimilation theory and observations in eukaryotic model systems. These data suggest a potential role for m5C methylation in prokaryotic trait canalization and identify genetic assimilation as an evolutionary mechanism of potential biogeochemical importance under global change factors.
Project description:In this study we explain the physiological, biochemical and gene expression mechanisms adopted by ammonium nitrate-fed Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing under elevated [CO2], highlighting the importance of root-to-shoot interactions in these responses A transcriptomic analysis enabled the identification of photoassimilate allocation and remobilization as fundamental process used by the plants to maintain the outstanding photosynthetic performance. Moreover, based on the relationship between plant carbon status and hormone functioning, the transcriptomic analyses provided an explanation of why phenology accelerates in elevated [CO2] conditions.
Project description:In this study we explain the physiological, biochemical and gene expression mechanisms adopted by ammonium nitrate-fed Arabidopsis thaliana plants growing under elevated [CO2], highlighting the importance of root-to-shoot interactions in these responses A transcriptomic analysis enabled the identification of photoassimilate allocation and remobilization as fundamental process used by the plants to maintain the outstanding photosynthetic performance. Moreover, based on the relationship between plant carbon status and hormone functioning, the transcriptomic analyses provided an explanation of why phenology accelerates in elevated [CO2] conditions.
Project description:Seven carbon autotrophic fixation pathways were described so far. However, it is not common to find the co-existence of more than one cycle in a single cell. Here, we describe a thermophilic bacterium Carbonactinospora thermoautotrophica StC with a unique and versatile carbon metabolism. StC was isolated from a consortium found in a burning organic pile that exhibits an optimal growth temperature between 55° and 65° C. The genome analyses suggested that the strain StC potentially performs two-carbon fixation pathways, Calvin-Benson-Bassham (CBB) cycle and the Reductive citrate cycle (rTCA) and preserve a microcompartment related with CO2 concentration. To better understand the carbon fixation in StC strain, the expression of the genes of bacterial cells grown autotrophically and heterotrophically were analyzed. For our surprise the data showed the co-existing of the both carbon fixation pathways - CBB and rTCA cycles - in a cultivable thermophilic chemoautotrophic bacterium Carbonactinospora thermoautotrophica strain StC, based on integrated omics of genomics, transcriptomics, and proteomics. These two cycles working together may help microorganisms to improve the CO2 fixation. The knowledge about the co-occurrence of carbon cycle in a single cell leads open a question ‘why microorganisms use multiple pathways to fix carbon and what the advantage for this strategy?’. Advancing on this is a key to better understand the biological carbon fixation mechanism in thermophiles and prospecting the repurposing of enzymes in synthetic biology for biotechnological applications.