Gemmatimonas aurantiaca

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A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Gemmatimonas aurantiaca

Classification

Higher order taxa

Super Kingdom: Bacteria; Phylum: Gemmatimonadetes; Class: Gemmatimonadetes; Order: Gemmatimonadales; Family: Gemmatimonadaceae; Genus: Gemmatimonas

(NCBI)

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Species: Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T-27T

G. aurantiaca T-27 under the microscope by Phase-contrast photomicrography [Zhang et al.]

Description and significance

G. aurantiaca T27T is an aerobic rod-shaped Gram-negative bacterium that is non-sporulating. It is motile by the use of flagella and it was isolated by anaerobic-aerobic sequential batch reactor under enhanced biological phosphorus removal conditions for wastewater treatment. G. aurantiaca T27T is a very slow growing bacterium and is a polyphosphate-accummulating bacteria.

Genome structure

Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T-27T has a circular chromosome that consists of 4,636,964 base pairs of which majority, 64.28%, includes G/C pair. G. aurantiaca contains about 3,935 open reading frames, 48 tRNA genes and single rRNA operon were predicted. It also contains essential genes that were previously identified in model organisms such as Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis. This shows that their basic cellular system is not much different from other known microbes. G. aurantiaca T-27T can grow both under aerobic and anaerobic conditions. Furthermore, G. auratiaca T-27T genome encoded significantly large numbers of signal transduction components, sigma factors and transporters. These genomic features would provide an insight into the life style of G. aurantiaca, and facilitate isolation of not-yet-cultivated Gemmatimonadetes species (Zhang, Sekiguchi, Hanada, Hugenholtz, Kim, Kamagata, & Nakamura,2003).

Genome structure of G. aurantiaca [Genome Information Broker]

Cell structure and metabolism

Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T-27T possess a Gram-negative cell envelope, with the cytoplasmic and outer membranes readily visible. It is able to utilize substrates as sole carbon sources for energy. Some substrates are yeast extract, polypepton, acetate, and gelatin. When growth occurs catalase and oxidase are produced, while polyphosphate accumulation is present.

Ecology

Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T-27T is a very slow growing bacterium that needs specific factors to allow growth. Strain T-27T grows at 25–35 °C. No growth occurs at temperatures of below 20°C or above 37°C, while the optimum pH needed for growth is about pH 7.

Pathology

Due to G. aurantiaca being recently discovered, it is unknown at this time if this bacteria can cause harm to different hosts.

Current Research

In 2009, Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T27T pigments were purified in a lab by Shinichi Takaichi, Takashi Maoka, Kazuto Takasaki, and Satoshi Hanada. They identified many carotenoids, some of which were not identified in other bacterium. They were able to identify the carotenoids and figure out the complete nucleotide sequences. With that they were able to propose a biosynthetic pathway for the carotenoids, as well as, the genes and enzymes needed for it. They also discovered that G. aurantiaca store these carotenoid pigments to function as antioxidants use as defense to high concentrations of oxygen.

Cool Factor

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References

1. Gemmatimonas aurantiaca T-27." Genome Information Broker. Web.
2. Zhang, Hui, Yuji Sekiguchi, Satoshi Hanada, Philip Hugenholtz, Hongik Kim, Yoichi Kamagata, and Kazunori Nakamura. "Gemmatimonas Aurantiaca Gen. Nov., Sp. Nov., a Gram-negative, Aerobic, Polyphosphate-accumulating Micro-organism, the First Cultured Representative of the New Bacterial Phylum Gemmatimonadetes Phyl. Nov." International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology.
3. http://www.bio.nite.go.jp/ngac/e/ga1-e.html

Edited by student of Iris Keren: NEUS2012 Amal Mohamed, Soonji Kim, Jaclyn Egitto