Project description:The study of amoeba-associated Chlamydiae is a dynamic field in which new species are increasingly reported. In the present work, we characterized the developmental cycle and analyzed the genome of a new member of this group associated with Vermamoeba vermiformis, we propose to name "Rubidus massiliensis." This bacterium is well-adapted to its amoeba host and do not reside inside of inclusion vacuoles after phagocytosis. It has a developmental cycle typical of this family of bacteria, with a transition from condensed elementary bodies to hypodense replicative reticulate bodies. Multiplication occurs through binary fission of the reticulate bodies. The genome of "R. massiliensis" consists of a 2.8 Mbp chromosome and two plasmids (pRm1, pRm2) consisting of 39,075 bp and 80,897 bp, respectively, a feature that is unique within this group. The Re-analysis of the Chlamydiales genomes including the one of "R. massiliensis" slightly modified the previous phylogeny of the tlc gene encoding the ADP/ATP translocase. Our analysis suggested that the tlc gene could have been transferred to plant and algal plastids before the transfer to Rickettsiales, and that this gene was probably duplicated several times.
Project description:A Gram-negative, red-pigment-producing marine bacterial strain, designated S1-1, was isolated from the tidal flat sediment of the Yellow Sea, Korea. On the basis of phenotypic, phylogenetic, and genetic data, strain S1-1 (KCTC 11448BP) represented a new species of the genus Zooshikella. Thus, we propose the name Zooshikella rubidus sp. nov. Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry of the red pigments produced by strain S1-1 revealed that the major metabolic compounds were prodigiosin and cycloprodigiosin. In addition, this organism produced six minor prodigiosin analogues, including two new structures that were previously unknown. To our knowledge, this is the first description of a microorganism that simultaneously produces prodigiosin and cycloprodigiosin as two major metabolites. Both prodigiosin and cycloprodigiosin showed antimicrobial activity against several microbial species. These bacteria were approximately 1.5-fold more sensitive to cycloprodigiosin than to prodigiosin. The metabolites also showed anticancer activity against human melanoma cells, which showed significantly more sensitivity to prodigiosin than to cycloprodigiosin. The secondary metabolite profiles of strain S1-1 and two reference bacterial strains were compared by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Multivariate statistical analyses based on secondary metabolite profiles by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry indicated that the metabolite profile of strain S1-1 could clearly be distinguished from those of two phylogenetically related, prodigiosin-producing bacterial strains.