Polaromonas naphthalenivorans
A Microbial Biorealm page on the genus Polaromonas naphthalenivorans
Classification
Higher order taxa
Bacteria; Protobacteria; Betaprotobacteria; Burkholderiales; Comamonadaceae, Polaromonas
Species
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NCBI: Taxonomy |
Polaramonas napthalenivorans CJ2
Description and significance
P. naphthalenivorans is an aquatic gram-negative, non-spore forming, non-motile coccus that is capable of growth with naphthalene as its sole carbon and energy source. (2)
The genus Polaromonas was proposed in 1996 and contained only one species, P. vacuolata, until 2004 when P. naphthalenivorans was discovered. (3) Strain CJ2 was isolated from coal-tar-contaminated freshwater sediment in South Glens Falls, New York, USA. (1) It was discovered using stable isotope probing (SIP), a technique that enabled researchers to follow the flow of labeled carbon atoms from naphthalene to the DNA of naturally occurring microbial populations in the environment such as P. naphthalenivorans. (4)
It is important to have the genome of P. naphthalenivorans sequenced because of its ability to efficiently remove naphthalene from solution. Naphthalene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) that can cause contamination of soil, water or sediment and can be toxic and/or carcinogenic. (2)
Genome structure
The complete genome of P. naphthalenivorans is 4,410,291 base pairs long, with a G+C content of 61.5%. (2,5) It consists of a circular chromosome that is 4.4Mbp long and encodes 4084 proteins and eight circular plasmids that collectively encode 2195 proteins. pPNAP01 is .35Mbp long and encodes 205 proteins. pPNAP02 is .19Mbp long and encodes 161 proteins. pPNAP03 is .17Mbp long and encodes 155 proteins. pPNAP04 is .14Mbp long and encodes 136 proteins. pPNAP05 is .059Mbp long and encodes 52 proteins. pPNAP06 is .022Mbp long and encodes 20 proteins. pPNAP07 is .0099Mbp long and encodes 11 proteins. pPNAP08 is .0065Mbp long and encodes 5 proteins. (6)
Comparative 16S rDNA analysis showed that P. naphthalenivorans is related to the family Comamonadaceae, with its nearest phylogenetic relative being P. vacuolata (97.1% similar). (2)
The naphthalene catabolic genes of P. naphthalenivorans are separated into a large cluster (25,748bp) and small cluster (14,217bp) and many of these genes are homologous to the catabolic genes of Ralstonia U2, an organism that uses the gentisate pathway to convert naphthalene to central metabolites. Three open reading frames present in Ralstonia U2 (nagY, nagM and nagN) are missing in P. naphthalenivorans. (6)
Cell structure and metabolism
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Ecology
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Pathology
There are no known diseases caused by P. naphthalenivorans CJ2.
Application to Biotechnology
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Current Research
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References
Edited by Christina Hopson, student of Rachel Larsen
