Genome-based reclassification of azospirillum brasilense SP245 as the type strain of azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov

Azospirillum sp. strain Sp245T, originally identified as belonging to Azospirillum brasilense, is recognized as a plant-growth-promoting rhizobacterium due to its ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen and to produce plant-beneficial compounds. Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and other related strains were isolated from the root surfaces of different plants in Brazil. Cells are Gram-negative, curved or slightly curved rods, and motile with polar and lateral flagella. Their growth temperature varies between 20 to 38 °C and their carbon source utilization is similar to other Azospirillum species. A preliminary 16S rRNA sequence analysis showed that the new species is closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T. Housekeeping genes revealed that Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, BR 12001 and Vi22 form a separate cluster from strain A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, and a group of strains closely related to A. brasilense Sp7T. Overall genome relatedness index (OGRI) analyses estimated based on average nucleotide identity (ANI) and digital DNA–DNA hybridization (dDDH) between Azospirillum sp. Sp245T and its close relatives to other Azospirillum species type strains, such as A. brasilense Sp7T and A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T, revealed values lower than the limit of species circumscription. Moreover, core-proteome phylogeny including 1079 common shared proteins showed the independent clusterization of A. brasilense Sp7T, A. formosense CC-Nfb-7T and Azospirillum sp. Sp245T, a finding that was corroborated by the genome clustering of OGRI values and housekeeping phylogenies. The DNA G+C content of the cluster of Sp245T was 68.4–68.6%. Based on the phylogenetic, genomic, phenotypical and physiological analysis, we propose that strain Sp245T together with the strains Vi22 and BR12001 represent a novel species of the genus Azospirillum, for which the name Azospirillum baldaniorum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is Sp245T (=BR 11005T=IBPPM 219T) (GCF_007827915.1, GCF_000237365.1, and GCF_003119195.2).Fil: Ferreira, Natalia Dos Santos. Universidade Federal Rural Do Rio de Janeiro; BrasilFil: Sant´Anna, Fernando Hayashi. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Reis, Veronica Massena. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Ambrosini, Adriana. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Volpiano, Camila Gazolla. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: Rothballer, Michael. Helmholtz Center Munich German Research Center For Environmental Health; AlemaniaFil: Schwab, Stefan. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; BrasilFil: Baura, Valter Antonio. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Balsanelli, Eduardo. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Pedrosa, Fabio de Oliveira. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Passaglia, Luciane Maria Pereira. Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul; BrasilFil: de Souza, Emanuel Maltempi. Universidade Federal do Paraná; BrasilFil: Hartmann, Anton. Ludwig Maximilians Universitat; AlemaniaFil: Cassan, Fabricio Dario. Universidad Nacional de Rio Cuarto. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Fisicoquímicas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Agrobiotecnológicas; ArgentinaFil: Zilli, Jerri Edson. Ministerio da Agricultura Pecuaria e Abastecimento de Brasil. Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria; Brasi

The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability

Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications

Heterologous expression of predicted promoter site for paraquat-inducible genes of the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum is increased by plumbagin

The aim of this study was to evaluate functionally the effect of plumbagin on the heterologous expression of a predicted promoter region of open reading frames of paraquat-inducible (pqi) genes revealed during genome annotation analyses of the bacterium Chromobacterium violaceum. First, the promoter of interest was amplified using specific primers and cloned into a conjugative vector carrying the Escherichia coli lacZ gene without a promoter. The heterologous expression of the predicted promoter region was then examined in the presence of 50 µg/mL plumbagin by β-galactosidase expression assays. Significant differences were detected in the levels of β-galactosidase as a result of the activation of the promoter region of interest in response to plumbagin at the concentration tested. On the other hand, no growth of the wild strain of C. violaceum was found during its incubation in nutrient broth medium containing different concentrations of plumbagin compared to control group. The findings described herein demonstrate that the heterologous expression of a predicted promoter site of pqi genes of C. violaceum is induced by plumbagin in a fusion strain, giving insights into the functional characterization of intrinsic regulatory DNA motifs annotated in this bacterial genome. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar funcionalmente a influência do composto plumbagin sobre a indução heteróloga de uma região promotora predita de genes paraquat-induzíveis revelada durante as análises de anotação do genoma da bactéria Chromobacterium violaceum. A região promotora de interesse de C. violaceum foi amplificada a partir de sequências oligonucleotídicas específicas e clonada em vetor conjugativo, sendo acoplada à região codificante do gene lacZ de Escherichia coli. Em seguida, a indução heteróloga desse segmento regulatório foi estimada em cepa de E. coli na presença do plumbagin em uma concentração final de 50 µg/mL por mensurações dos níveis de expressão da enzima β-galactosidase. Diferenças significativas nos níveis da β-galactosidase foram observadas como resultado da ativação da região promotora de interesse pelo plumbagin na concentração testada em comparação às condições controle. Por outro lado, nenhum crescimento da cepa selvagem de C. violaceum foi observado durante a incubação dessas células em meio nutritivo contendo diferentes concentrações do plumbagin. As descobertas descritas aqui sugerem que uma região promotora predita para genes paraquat-induzíveis da bactéria C. violaceum sofra indução heteróloga pelo plumbagin, reforçando evidências acerca da caracterização funcional de motivos regulatórios intrínsecos a essa bactéria

New tailor-made alkyl-aldehyde bifunctional supports for lipase immobilization

Immobilized and stabilized lipases are important biocatalytic tools. In this paper, different tailor-made bifunctional supports were prepared for the immobilization of a new metagenomic lipase (LipC12). The new supports contained hydrophobic groups (different alkyl groups) to promote interfacial adsorption of the lipase and aldehyde groups to react covalently with the amino groups of side chains of the adsorbed lipase. The best catalyst was 3.5-fold more active and 5000-fold more stable than the soluble enzyme. It was successfully used in the regioselective deacetylation of peracetylated d-glucal. The PEGylated immobilized lipase showed high regioselectivity, producing high yields of the C-3 monodeacetylated product at pH 5.0 and 4 °C.612CONSELHO NACIONAL DE DESENVOLVIMENTO CIENTÍFICO E TECNOLÓGICO - CNPQSem informaçã

New Tailor-Made Alkyl-Aldehyde Bifunctional Supports for Lipase Immobilization

Immobilized and stabilized lipases are important biocatalytic tools. In this paper, different tailor-made bifunctional supports were prepared for the immobilization of a new metagenomic lipase (LipC12). The new supports contained hydrophobic groups (different alkyl groups) to promote interfacial adsorption of the lipase and aldehyde groups to react covalently with the amino groups of side chains of the adsorbed lipase. The best catalyst was 3.5-fold more active and 5000-fold more stable than the soluble enzyme. It was successfully used in the regioselective deacetylation of peracetylated d-glucal. The PEGylated immobilized lipase showed high regioselectivity, producing high yields of the C-3 monodeacetylated product at pH 5.0 and 4 °C

The genomes of three Bradyrhizobium sp. isolated from root nodules of Lupinus albescens grown in extremely poor soils display important genes for resistance to environmental stress

Lupinus albescens is a resistant cover plant that establishes symbiotic relationships with bacteria belonging to the Bradyrhizobium genus. This symbiosis helps the development of these plants in adverse environmental conditions, such as the ones found in arenized areas of Southern Brazil. This work studied three Bradyrhizobium sp. (AS23, NAS80 and NAS96) isolated from L. albescens plants that grow in extremely poor soils (arenized areas and adjacent grasslands). The genomes of these three strains were sequenced in the Ion Torrent platform using the IonXpress library preparation kit, and presented a total number of bases of 1,230,460,823 for AS23, 1,320,104,022 for NAS80, and 1,236,105,093 for NAS96. The genome comparison with closest strains Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA6 and Bradyrhizobium diazoefficiens USDA110 showed important variable regions (with less than 80% of similarity). Genes encoding for factors for resistance/tolerance to heavy metal, flagellar motility, response to osmotic and oxidative stresses, heat shock proteins (present only in the three sequenced genomes) could be responsible for the ability of these microorganisms to survive in inhospitable environments. Knowledge about these genomes will provide a foundation for future development of an inoculant bioproduct that should optimize the recovery of degraded soils using cover crops

Bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study.

a<p>Ap = ampicillin; Km = kanamycin; Sm = streptomycin; Tc = tetracycline; Cm = chloramphenicol; and the superscript r = resistant.</p><p>Bacterial strains and plasmids used in this study.</p

Bradyrhizobium uaiense sp. nov., a new highly efficient cowpea symbiont

This study describes two Bradyrhizobium strains, UFLA03-164(T) and UFLA03-153, which share more than 99% sequence similarity of the 16S rRNA with the type strains of 15 species in this genus. The concatenation of three housekeeping genes (recA, gyrB, and dnaK) indicated that both strains formed a single clade separate from known Bradyrhizobium species. B. viridifuturi, represented by SEMIA 690(T), is the closest neighboring species (96.2%). Low (< 92%) average nucleotide identity (ANI) was observed between strain UFLA03-164(T) and any of the closest species on the phylogenetic trees based on concatenated housekeeping genes. The DNA G+C content of UFLA03-164(T) is 63.25%. Phenotypic characteristics were determined for both UFLA strains. Based on the data, the two strains represent a new species for which the name Bradyrhizobium uaiense is proposed, with UFLA03-164(T) (= LMG 31509(T)) as type strain

<i>H. seropedicae</i> biofilm formation on glass fiber.

<p>Light microscopy was performed with <i>H. seropedicae</i> SmR1 and EPSEB (<i>epsB</i> mutant) grown in the presence of glass fiber for 12 hours, without (A,B) and with (C,D) addition of purified wild-type EPS (100 µg.mL⁻¹). Arrows indicate attached bacteria. Asterisks indicate mature biofilm colonies. For biofilm expression analyses (E), <i>H. seropedicae</i> MHS-01 cells were grown for 12 h in the presence or absence of glass fiber, the free living bacteria were directly used and biofilm bacteria were recovered from glass fiber by vortex. β-galactosidase activity was determined, standardized by total protein concentration, and expressed as nmol ONP.(min.mg protein) ⁻¹± standard deviation. Different letters indicate significant differences (p<0.01, Duncan multiple range test) in <i>epsG</i> expression between the tested conditions.</p