Flavobacterium hibernum

A photomicrograph of F. hibernum grown on nutrient-poor medium at 20C for 24hr

Classification

Domain: Bacteria Phylum: Bacteroidetes Class: Flavobacteria Order: Flavobacteriales Family: Flavobacteriaceae

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Flavobacterium hibernum

This chart displays the evolutionary biology of F. hibernum.

Description and Significance

Flavobacterium hibernum, meaning “wintry yellow bacteria”, is a Gram negative rod-shaped, aerobic bacterium, able to grow on cold, nutrient-poor media. First isolated from Crooked Lake in Antarctica (McCammon, 1998), but is now known to be found worldwide, in freshwater, ice, and soil ecosystems, and is largely unexplored genetically (Chen, 2006). An optimal growth temperature of 26ºC groups F. hibernum with psychrotrophic microbes, although the temperatures at which growth was possible ranged from -7ºC to 30ºC. This bacterium exhibits gliding motility, the mechanism of which is unknown. However, this method of motility may relate to its ability to lyse Gram-positive cells (such as E. coli) as a bacteriovore in the food web. F. hibernum is able to utilize a wide variety of sugars and substrate containing other nutrients. Additionally, Flavobacterium hibernum and other Flavobacteria are commonly found in aquatic environments, including treeholes where container-breeding mosquitoes breed. Flavobacterium are consumed by several species of mosquito, including Anopheles gambiae and Aedes triseriatus, which can act as vectors for disease (Chen, 2010). It has been proposed that F. hibernum or other members of its genus could be modified to deliver toxins from B. thuringiensis or B. sphaericus and be used as a “novel insecticide to lower mosquito populations” (Chen, 2010). However, care must be taken, as some species of Flavobacterium are toxic to fish.

Genome Structure

Describe the size and content of the genome. How many chromosomes? Circular or linear? Other interesting features? What is known about its sequence?

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.

Ecology and Pathogenesis

Habitat; symbiosis; biogeochemical significance; contributions to environment.
If relevant, how does this organism cause disease? Human, animal, plant hosts? Virulence factors, as well as patient symptoms.

References

[Sample reference] S.A. McCammon, B.H. Innes, J.P. Bowman, P.D. Franzmann, S.J. Dobson, P.E. Holloway, J.H. Skerratt, P.D. Nichols, and L.M. "Flavobacterium hibernum sp. nov., a lactose-utilizing bacterium from a freshwater Antarctic lake". International Journal of Systematic and Bacteriology. 1998. Volume 48. p. 1405-1412.

Author

Page authored by _____, student of Prof. Jay Lennon at Michigan State University.

<-- Do not remove this line-->