Genomic and phenotypic attributes of novel salinivibrios from stromatolites, sediment and water from a high altitude lake

Author(s)

Gorriti, Marta F. ^{[1, 2]} ; Dias, Graciela M. ^[1] ; Chimetto, Luciane A. ^[1] ; Trindade-Silva, Amaro E. ^{[1, 3]} ; Silva, Bruno S. ^[1] ; Mesquita, Milene M. A. ^[1] ; Gregoracci, Gustavo B. ^[1] ; Farias, Maria E. ^[2] ; Thompson, Cristiane C. ^[1] ; Thompson, Fabiano L. ^{[1, 4, 5]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Inst Biol, Microbiol Lab, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[2] Consejo Nacl Invest Cient & Tecn, CCT, Planta Piloto Proc Ind Microbiol PROIMI, Lab Invest Microbiol Lagunas Andinas, San Miguel De Tucuman, Tucuman - Argentina

^[3] Fac Tecnol & Ciencias, Nucleo Biotecnol Ambiental, Salvador, BA - Brazil

^[4] SAGE COPPE, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[5] Microbiol Lab, CCS, IB, Rio De Janeiro, RJ - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: BMC Genomics; v. 15, JUN 13 2014.
• Web of Science Citations: 20

Abstract

Background: Salinivibrios are moderately halophilic bacteria found in salted meats, brines and hypersaline environments. We obtained three novel conspecific Salinivibrio strains closely related to S. costicola, from Socompa Lake, a high altitude hypersaline Andean lake (approx. 3,570 meters above the sea level). Results: The three novel Salinivibrio spp. were extremely resistant to arsenic (up to 200 mM HAsO4(2-)), NaCl (up to 15%), and UV-B radiation (19 KJ/m(2), corresponding to 240 minutes of exposure) by means of phenotypic tests. Our subsequent draft genome ionsequencing and RAST-based genome annotation revealed the presence of genes related to arsenic, NaCl, and UV radiation resistance. The three novel Salinivibrio genomes also had the xanthorhodopsin gene cluster phylogenetically related to Marinobacter and Spiribacter. The genomic taxonomy analysis, including multilocus sequence analysis, average amino acid identity, and genome-to-genome distance revealed that the three novel strains belong to a new Salinivibrio species. Conclusions: Arsenic resistance genes, genes involved in DNA repair, resistance to extreme environmental conditions and the possible light-based energy production, may represent important attributes of the novel salinivibrios, allowing these microbes to thrive in the Socompa Lake. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/11612-1 - Characterization of the biosynthetic gene cluster of Arenosclerins, alkylpiperidine alkaloids isolated from the sponge Arenosclera brasiliensis
• Grantee: Amaro Emiliano Trindade Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral