Project description:Macroalgae contribute substantially to primary production in coastal ecosystems. Their biomass, mainly consisting of polysaccharides, is cycled into the environment by marine heterotrophic bacteria (MHB), using largely uncharacterized mechanisms. In Zobellia galactanivorans, we discovered and characterized the complete catabolic pathway for carrageenans, major cell wall polysaccharides of red macroalgae, providing a model system for carrageenan utilization by MHB. We further demonstrate that carrageenan catabolism relies on a multifaceted carrageenan-induced regulon, including a non-canonical polysaccharide utilization locus (PUL) and several distal genes. The genetic structure of the carrageenan utilization system is well conserved in marine Bacteroidetes, but modified in other MHB phyla. The core system is completed by additional functions which can be assumed by non-orthologous genes in different species. This complex genetic structure is due to multiple evolutionary events including gene duplications and horizontal gene transfers. These results allow for an extension on the definition of bacterial PUL-mediated polysaccharide digestion.
Project description:We cultivated the flavobacterium Zobellia galactanivorans DsijT with fresh brown macroalgae with distinct chemical compositions. Its capacity to use macroalgae as the sole carbon source via the secretion of extracellular enzymes, leading to extensive tissue damages, highlights a sharing pioneer degrader behavior. RNA-seq transcriptome analysis revealed a metabolic shift toward the utilization of brown algal polysaccharides during tissue degradation. A subset of genes was specifically induced in cells grown with intact algae compared to purified polysaccharides. It notably includes genes involved in protection against oxidative burst, type IX secretion system proteins and novel uncharacterized Polysaccharides Utilization Loci (PULs). Comparative growth experiments and genomics between Zobellia members brought out putative genetic determinants of the pioneer behavior of Z. galactanivorans, whose in vitro role could be further characterized. This work constitutes the first investigation of the metabolic mechanisms of bacteria mediating fresh macroalgae breakdown, and will help unravel the role of marine microbes in the fate of macroalgal biomass.
Project description:Humans harbor numerous species of colonic bacteria that digest the fiber polysaccharides in commonly consumed terrestrial plants. More recently in history, regional populations have consumed edible seaweeds (macroalgae) containing unique polysaccharides. However, it remains unclear how extensively gut bacteria have adapted to digest these novel nutrients. Here, we show that the ability of gut bacteria to digest seaweed polysaccharides is considerably more pervasive than previously appreciated. Using culture-based approaches, we show that known Bacteroides genes involved in seaweed degradation have mobilized into many members of this genus. We also identify new marine bacteria-derived genes, and their corresponding mobile DNA elements, that are involved in degrading several seaweed polysaccharides. Some of these new genes reside in gut-resident, Gram-positive Firmicutes, for which phylogenetic analysis suggests an origin in the Epulopiscium gut symbionts of marine fishes. Our results are important for understanding the metabolic plasticity of the human gut microbiome, the global exchange of genes in the context of dietary selective pressures and identifying new functions that can be introduced or engineered to design and fill orthogonal niches for a future generation of engineered probiotics.
Project description:Previous studies have demonstrated that the iron content in marine heterotrophic bacteria is comparatively higher than that of phytoplankton. Therefore, they have been indicated to play a major role in the biogeochemical cycling of iron. In this study, we aimed to investigate the potential of viral lysis as a source of iron for marine heterotrophic bacteria. Viral lysates were derived from the marine heterotrophic bacterium, Vibrio natriegens PWH3a (A.K.A Vibrio alginolyticus). The bioavailability of Fe in the lysates was determined using a model heterotrophic bacterium, namely, Dokdonia sp. strain Dokd-P16, isolated from Fe-limited waters along Line P transect in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean. The bacteria were grown under Fe-deplete or Fe-replete conditions before being exposed to the viral lysate. Differential gene expression following exposure to the viral lysate was analyzed via RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed genes under iron-replete and iron-deplete conditions. This study would provide novel insights into the role of viral lysis in heterotrophic bacteria in supplying bioavailable iron to other marine microorganisms under iron-limiting and non-limiting conditions. First, the marine heterotrophic bacterium genome, Dokdonia sp. strain Dokd-P16, was sequenced to provide a genomic context for the expression studies. Subsequently, the relative gene expression in Dokdonia sp. strain Dokd-P16 grown under Fe limiting and non-limiting conditions were analyzed. This transcriptomic approach would be utilized to elucidate genes regulated by Fe availability in Dokdonia sp. strain Dokd-P16, which indicate its Fe-related response viral lysate exposure. Taken together, in this study, the transcriptomic responses of Fe-limited and non-limited marine heterotrophic bacteria were analyzed, which provided novel insights into the biological availability of Fe from the viral lysates.
Project description:Sargassum is one of the most diverse brown algal genus with more than 150 known species, mostly benthic and few pelagic species. They contribute significantly to global primary production and serve as important habitat for wide range of marine organisms. Sargassum vulgare is one of the dominant habitat forming species along Mediterranean coast. Despite their huge ecological importance, it is relatively unknown how they will respond under future global climate change scenario. This work used de novo transcriptome sequencing approach to understand the molecular response of S. vulgare to chronic acidification at the shallow underwater volcanic CO2 vents off Ischia Island, Italy. Keywords: brown algae, Sargassum, de novo transcriptome, ocean acidification, CO2 vents.