Shewanella Haliotis
Classification
Domain; Bacteria Phylum; Pseudomonadota Class; Gammaproteobacteria Order; Ateromonadales Family; Shewanellaceae Genus; Shewanella
Species
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NCBI: [1] |
Shewanella Haliotis
Description and Significance
Describe the appearance, habitat, etc. of the organism, and why you think it is important. Shewanella Haliotis is a rod-shaped, gram-negative bacteria that reside in the gut biomes of Abalones, which are edible sea snails. The snails are primarily found in Yeosu, South Korea. However, they can live in any warm, marine environment, like Thailand. This is an important bacteria because it infects dairy products and undercooked or raw fish. It can cause extreme necrosis along with fevers, chills, swelling, soreness and erythema (severe rashes.) The strain they originally discovered was also immune to the antibiotics Penicillin and Vancomycin.
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?
Shewanella Haliotis has a genome with 4.99 Mb, which is average amongst bacteria. It has a circular genome. There were no plasmids discovered within the cell. The genes that were most prevalent within the genome were used for genetic information, environmental and cellular information processing, and signaling.
Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle
Interesting features of cell structure; how it gains energy; what important molecules it produces.
It's a gram-negative cell, which means it has a thin, peptidoglycan layer and a thicker cell membrane. They gain energy from oxygen but in environments with little to no oxygen, such as space, they can gain their energy from metal. A byproduct of their metabolism is electricity, which water treatment and space programs are trying to use to break down their waste and get power in return.
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.
This organism typically lives in warm, ocean environments, primarily inhabiting the gut biomes of edible sea snails called Abalones. They are usually found in Korea and Thailand. While a symbiote for the snails, they are very harmful to humans. They can inhabit the fish or people who eat the snails. They help break down waste or toxic metals in the environment, causing the substances to be less toxic to the environment.
They cause disease in humans through contact with contaminated sea water or through the ingestion of raw or undercooked fish. Very little is known about Shewanella Haliotis so they haven't determined a virulence factor. However, it is more virulent than other organisms of the same species.
References
Author
Page authored by Ben Martin, student of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.
