Analysis of Polysaccharide Utilization Loci from 53 sequenced North Sea Flavobacteriia suggests that major algal glycans exhibit limited structural diversity

ABSTRACT: Marine algae convert a substantial fraction of the carbon dioxide they fix into various polysaccharides. Bacteria specialized on the remineralization of these polysaccharides often feature genomic clusters, termed polysaccharide utilization loci (PULs). Such PULs are often prevalent in, but not limited to, marine Flavobacteriia. Since knowledge on extant PUL diversity is sparse, we sequenced the genomes of 53 North Sea Flavobacteriia. We obtained 400 PULs, suggesting usage of a large array of polysaccharides, including laminarin, α- and β-mannans, fucose-, xylose-, galactose-, rhamnose- and arabinose-containing substrates, pectins, and chitins. Many of the PULs were novel, some indicating substrates that have rarely been described in marine environments. PUL repertoires of isolates often differed significantly within genera, corroborating ecological niche-associated glycan partitioning. Polysaccharide uptake in Flavobacteriia is mediated by SusCD. Respective protein trees revealed clustering according to polysaccharide specificities. Analysis of SusCD expression in multiyear phytoplankton bloom-associated metaproteomes indicated changes in microbial utilization of glucan, ß-mannan and sulfated xylan, suggesting that distinct substrates are temporarily abundant.

INSTRUMENT(S): LTQ Orbitrap Velos

ORGANISM(S): Algae Metagenome

SUBMITTER: Frank Unfried  

LAB HEAD: Rudolf Amann

PROVIDER: PXD008238 | Pride | 2018-08-16

REPOSITORIES: pride