Candidatus ruthia magnifica

A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Candidatus ruthia magnifica

Classification

Higher order taxa

Bacteria(Kindgdom); Proteobacteria(Phylum); Gammaproteobacteria(Class); sulfur-oxidizing symbionts(order)[NCBI, [1]]

Species

NCBI: Taxonomy

Candidatus Ruthia magnifica

Description and significance

R. magnifica is a chemoautotrophic bacteria that lives symbiotically with a giant clam, a Metazoan with a genus and species of Calyptogena magnifica. It lives in an environment that may be characterized as a hydrothermal vent. It uses the chemical energy of reduced sulfur emanating from vents to provide their hosts with carbon and a large array of additional necessary nutrients such as essential amino acids and vitamins.[3] In return, the hosts provide the bacteria with inorganic substrates necessary for chemoautotrophic activity. R. magnifica itself lives in the gut and ciliary food groove of C. magnifica.[3] The sequencing of the R. magnifica genome is important in determining its metabolism and the compounds it is able to produce. Which, in turn, will give insight into the metabolism and biology of the host. R. magnifica is the first intracellular, sulfur-oxidizing endosymbiont to have its genome sequenced. It also has the largest genome of any intracellular symbiont sequenced to date and may represent an early intermediate in the evolution toward a plastid-like chemoautotrophic organelle.[3]

Genome structure

R. magnifica has 1,119 genes that encode 1,953 proteins. A single circular chromosome contains genes which are predicted to encode all the proteins necessary for all the metabolic pathways typical of free-living chemoautotrophs, including carbon fixation, sulfur oxidation, nitrogen assimilation, amino acid and cofactor/vitamin biosynthesis.[3]

Cell structure and metabolism

R. Magnifica gains energy by sulfur oxidation through sox(sulfur oxidation) and dsr (dissimilatory sulfite reductase) genes. When there is no environmental sulfur available, it may oxidize its sulfur granules through the use of dsr homologs. R. magnifica has the potential to produce 20 amino acids and 10 vitamins and cofactors. The genome encodes a complete glycolytic pathway and the nonoxidative branch of the pentose phosphate pathway. It also encodes a tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle lacking a-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase. The lack of this enzyme has been suggested to indicate obligate autotrophy in other bacteria.

Ecology

Describe any interactions with other organisms (included eukaryotes), contributions to the environment, effect on environment, etc.

Pathology

Due to its need for sulfer and its niche of hydrothermic vents, it is not likely to find R. magnifica in the same environment as humans. Therefore, it is not considered a pathogen and is not currently thought to cause any disease.

Application to Biotechnology

no known compounds that are useful in the Biotechnology are produced by R. magnifica

Current Research

Enter summaries of the most recent research here--at least three required

References

[2]] NCBI Taxonomy

[3] LG Newton, T. Woyke, "The Calyptogena magnifica Chemoautotrophic Symbiont Genome". Science. 2007. Volume 315. p. 998.

[Sample reference] Takai, K., Sugai, A., Itoh, T., and Horikoshi, K. "Palaeococcus ferrophilus gen. nov., sp. nov., a barophilic, hyperthermophilic archaeon from a deep-sea hydrothermal vent chimney". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 2000. Volume 50. p. 489-500.

Edited by Albert Noniyev, student of Rachel Larsen and Kit Pogliano