Oleispira antarctica

BIO 330 - Oleispira antarctica

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Oleispira antarctica. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology vol 53(3).

Classification

Bacteria; Pseudomonadati; Pseudomonadota; Gammaproteobacteria; Oceanospirillales; Oceanospirillaceae

Species

NCBI: [1]

Oleispira O. antarctica

Genus species

Description and Significance

Oleispira antarctica is a gram-negative bacterium. The size of O. antarctica can vary from 2-5 μm long and 0.4-0.8 μm wide. They tend to be wider towards the ends and thinner in the middle. O. antarctica have a singular, polar flagella that aids in movement. (Yakimov et al., 2003)

Oleispira antarctica is found in cold, shallow sea water in Rod Bay, in the Ross Sea, Southern Antarctica (Yakimov et al., 2003). They experience optimum growth between 1°C and 15°C and a salinity of 0.25 M and 1 M. Oleispira antarctica have also been found in Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Oleispira antarctica plays an important role in cold marine water environments. Being a cold-adapted bacteria allows them to function and survive in frigid waters. O. antarctica has the ability to break down petroleum hydrocarbons, which is useful in cleaning up harmful oil spills in the oceans surrounding Antarctica.

Oleispira antarctica means "oleum" which means oil, "spira" meaning coiled (twisted), and antarctica comes from where the microorganisms were originally found. All together Oleispira antarctica means coiled/ twisted oil degrading microorganism from Antarctica.

Genome Structure

Oleispira is classified as a psychrophile. The size of Oleispira antarctica’s genome is around 4.4 Mb According to the ncbi.nih.nih database and contains around 3,557 protein-coding genes. Oleispira antarctica has a singular circular chromosome. This bacterium is a member of the Gammaproteobacterial class and has adapted to thrive in low-temperature environments by using hydrocarbons as a primary energy source. The genome has genes that support cold adaptation, membrane fluidity and specialized metabolic pathways for breaking down alkanes and other hydrocarbons in the waters/oceans. Oleispira antarctica’s unique genetic features and energy requirements allow it to be utilized in oil spill clean-up. The bacterium genome highlights its importance in polar marine ecology and its potential application in environmental biotechnology.

Cell Structure, Metabolism and Life Cycle

Oleispira antarctica are gram-negative bacteria that are vibrioid or spirillus shaped but can change based on environmental conditions. The morphology can change between cocci, bacillus, and spirillus shapes. The cells are around 2-5μm with more recent studies finding smaller cells on average with lengths of around 1.2μm (Gentile et al., 2020). They are motile cells with one polar flagellum. O. antarctica is a species of aerobic bacteria that are chemoorganoheterotrophs that grow in aliphatic alkanes which are hydrocarbons made up of single covalent bonds (Gregson et al., 2020). They are able to degrade hydrocarbons such as Deisel for energy and produce fatty acids and alcohols in the process (Gentile et al., 2016).

Ecology and Pathogenesis

Oleispira antarctica is a psychrophilic bacterium, meaning it thrives in cold marine environments like the Antarctic. It was isolated from Antarctic coastal seawater, demonstrating its ability to survive and function in low-temperature, nutrient-limited ecosystems. This bacterium is commonly found in oil-contaminated waters, where hydrocarbons are present as pollutants. Its natural habitat includes polar marine waters, where it plays a pivotal role in the microbial community by degrading hydrocarbons. While Oleispira antarctica does not form traditional symbiotic relationships, it coexists with other microorganisms in biodegradation consortia. The bacteria specializes in breaking down aliphatic hydrocarbons, making it crucial for mitigating the effects of oil spills in cold marine ecosystems. Currently, Oleispira antarctica is not known to be pathogenic to humans, animals, or plants. It lacks virulence factors and is primarily studied for its environmental and industrial applications, particularly its capacity for hydrocarbon degradation.

References

Gentile G, Bonsignore M, Santisi S, Catalfamo M, Giuliano L, Genovese L, Yakimov MM, Denaro R, Genovese M, Cappello S. 2016. Biodegradation potentiality of psychrophilic bacterial strain oleispira antarctica RB-8 T. Marine Pollution Bulletin 105:125–130.

Gentile G, Maimone G, La Ferla R, Azzaro M, Catalfamo M, Genovese M, Santisi S, Maldani M, Macrì A, Cappello S. 2020. Phenotypic variations of Oleispira Antarctica rb-8(t) in different growth conditions. Current Microbiology 77:3414–3421.

Gregson BH, Metodieva G, Metodiev MV, Golyshin PN, McKew BA. 2020. Protein expression in the obligate hydrocarbon‐degrading psychrophile oleispira antarctica RB‐8 during alkane degradation and cold tolerance. Environmental Microbiology 22:1870–1883.

Kube M, Chernikova TN, Al-Ramahi Y, Beloqui A, Lopez-Cortez N, Guazzaroni M-E, Heipieper HJ, Klages S, Kotsyurbenko OR, Langer I, Nechitaylo TY, Lünsdorf H, Fernández M, Juárez S, Ciordia S, Singer A, Kagan O, Egorova O, Alain Petit P, Stogios P, Kim Y, Tchigvintsev A, Flick R, Denaro R, Genovese M, Albar JP, Reva ON, Martínez-Gomariz M, Tran H, Ferrer M, Savchenko A, Yakunin AF, Yakimov MM, Golyshina OV, Reinhardt R, Golyshin PN. 2013. Genome sequence and functional genomic analysis of the oil-degrading bacterium oleispira antarctica. Nature Communications 4.

Planck M. 2013. Oleispira Antarctica RB-8 genome assembly ASM96789v1 - NCBI - NLM. National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Yakimov MM, Gentile G, Bruni V, Cappello S, D’Auria G, Golyshin PN, Giuliano L. 2004. Crude oil-induced structural shift of coastal bacterial communities of Rod Bay (terra nova bay, Ross Sea, Antarctica) and characterization of cultured cold-adapted hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 49:419–432.

Yakimov MM, Giuliano L, Gentile G, Crisafi E, Chernikova TN, Abraham W-R, Lünsdorf H, Timmis KN, Golyshin PN. 2003. Oleispira Antarctica gen. Nov., sp. nov., a novel hydrocarbonoclastic marine bacterium isolated from Antarctic Coastal Sea Water. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 53:779–785.

Zhang W, Liu Y, Zheng K, Xing J, Li Q, Gu C, Wang Z, Shao H, Guo C, He H, Wang H, Sung YY, Mok WJ, Wong LL, Liang Y, McMinn A, Wang M. 2023. Discovery of an abundant viral genus in polar regions through the isolation and genomic characterization of a new virus againstoceanospirillaceae. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 89.

Author

Page authored by Trinity O'Neal, Kaliany Vazquez, Savion Powell, & Dylan Price, students of Prof. Bradley Tolar at UNC Wilmington.