Genome sequence of the fish pathogen Flavobacterium columnare ATCC 49512

Flavobacterium columnare is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped, motile, and highly prevalent fish pathogen causing columnaris disease in freshwater fish worldwide. Here, we present the complete genome sequence of F. columnare strain ATCC 49512.     

Genome Sequence of the Human-Pathogenic Bacterium Vibrio vulnificus Type Strain ATCC 27562

Vibrio vulnificus, which is the causative agent of cholera, is a Gram-negative, curved, motile, and rod-shaped bacterium. Here, we present the draft genome sequence of the type strain, ATCC 27562, which was the first isolated Vibrio vulnificus strain.     

Genome sequence of the emerging pathogen Aeromonas caviae

Aeromonas caviae is a Gram-negative, motile and rod-shaped facultative anaerobe that is increasingly being recognized as a cause of diarrhea in children. Here we present the first genome sequence of an A. caviae strain that was isolated as the sole pathogen from a child with profuse diarrhea.     

Two unusual budding bacteria isolated from a swimming pool

Two unusual strains of budding bacteria were isolated on a Millipore Pseudomonas Count Water Tester during routine monitoring of Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts in a swimming pool. The first isolate has been identified as Blastobacter sp. It was a yellow-pigmented, Gram negative rod-shaped organism with a polar holdfast by which it attached to solid surfaces or other cells to form rosettes. The cells reproduced by asymmetric division or budding at the free pole of the cell, producing motile daughter cells with a single polar flagellum. The second isolate, which has not yet been identified, was a red-pigmented, Gram negative rod-shaped organism which produced one or more buds at each pole of the cell. Cell division appears to occur by both binary fission and by budding. Both organisms were strict aerobes, catalase and oxidase positive and did not produce acid from glucose in Hugh and Leifson medium.     

Morphology of an Escherichia coli mutant with a temperature-dependent round cell shape.

Mutants of Escherichia coli capable of growing in the presence of 10 microgram of mecillinam per ml were selected after intensive mutagenesis. Of these mutants, 1.4% formed normal, rod-shaped cells at 30 degrees C but grew as spherical cells at 42 degrees C. The phenotype of one of these rod(Ts) mutants was 88% cotransducible with lip (14.3 min), and all lip+ rod(Ts) transductants of a lip recipient had the following characteristics: (i) growth was relatively sensitive to mecillinam at 30 degrees C but relatively resistant to mecillinam at 42 degrees C; (ii) penicillin-binding protein 2 was present in membranes of cells grown at 30 degrees C in reduced amounts and was undetectable in the membranes of cells grown at 42 degrees C. The mecillinam resistance, penicillin-binding protein 2 defect, and rod phenotypes all cotransduced with lip with high frequency. Thus the mutation [rodA(Ts)] is most likely in the gene for penicillin-binding protein 2 and causes the organism to grow as a sphere at 42 degrees C, although it grows with normal rodlike morphology at 30 degrees C. At 42 degrees C, cells of this strain were round with many wrinkles on their surfaces, as revealed by scanning electron microscopy. In these round cells, chromosomes were dispersed or distributed peripherally, in contrast to normal rod-shaped cells which had centrally located, more condensed chromosomes. The round cells divided asymmetrically on solid agar, and it seemed that the plane of each successive division was perpendicular to the preceding one. On temperature shift-down in liquid medium many cells with abnormal morphology appeared before normal rod-shaped cells developed. Few abnormal cells were seen when cells were placed on solid medium during temperature shift-down. These pleiotropic effects are presumably caused by one or more mutations in the rodA gene.     

Variation in life-history characteristics over a clinal gradient in three populations of a communal orb-weaving spider

Summary Adult size and fecundity, total reproductive biomass, egg size, and spiderling size and resistance to desiccation were compared in three populations of the communal orb-weaving spider,Metepeira spinipes, in Mexico. In a desert population and in one from a moist tropical forest adult size, fecundity, and total reproductive biomass were similar, but were markedly smaller than in a climatologically intermediate agricultural habitat. Egg size and protein content were greater in the desert and agricultural habitats than in the moist forest, but spiderling size increased from desert to agricultural to moist forest populations. Desert spiderlings survived significantly longer than moist forest spiderlings at all humidity treatments over a 10% to 100% range. An explanation for these results is proposed based on apparent differences in energy allocation and expenditure which arise from the distinct climate, colony structure, and prey and space availability in the three habitats.     

Transformation of a type 4 encapsulated strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae strain JNR.7/87 is a highly virulent, type 4 encapsulated Gram-positive bacterium whose transformability has not been tested previously, and whose genome is currently being sequenced. The strain was transformed at very low efficiency by addition of exogenous competence-stimulating peptide: However, the efficiency was too low and irreproducible to be useful in many genetic studies. Therefore, the effects on transformation efficiency of changing different components of competence-stimulating peptide-induced transformation have been examined. Screening of growth media was followed by optimization of pre-induction culture acidification, glycine concentration, and induction time. An optimized protocol was developed whereby S. pneumoniae strain JNR.7/87 was transformed reproducibly with a streptomycin resistance (SmR) marker at an efficiency of approximately 10(5) colony forming units per 10(8) cells.     

The effect of penicillin on the encystment of Bdellovibrio sp. strain W

When penicillin, and other inhibitors of peptidoglycan synthesis were added to encysting cultures of Bdellovibrio strain W, the encysting process continued, resulting in the production of cysts which were spherical in shape. Transmission electron micrographs of these spherical bdellocysts revealed the absence of an outer cyst wall. These cysts, devoid of cyst wall, were capable of germination under appropriate condition with the emergence from the prey ghost of highly motile spheroplasts. Withdrawl of the antibiotics after encystment had begun led to the production of spherical cysts that were surrounded by an outer cyst wall.     

Collective Motion of Spherical Bacteria

A large variety of motile bacterial species exhibit collective motions while inhabiting liquids or colonizing surfaces. These collective motions are often characterized by coherent dynamic clusters, where hundreds of cells move in correlated whirls and jets. Previously, all species that were known to form such motion had a rod-shaped structure, which enhances the order through steric and hydrodynamic interactions. Here we show that the spherical motile bacteria Serratia marcescens exhibit robust collective dynamics and correlated coherent motion while grown in suspensions. As cells migrate to the upper surface of a drop, they form a monolayer, and move collectively in whirls and jets. At all concentrations, the distribution of the bacterial speed was approximately Rayleigh with an average that depends on concentration in a non-monotonic way. Other dynamical parameters such as vorticity and correlation functions are also analyzed and compared to rod-shaped bacteria from the same strain. Our results demonstrate that self-propelled spherical objects do form complex ordered collective motion. This opens a door for a new perspective on the role of cell aspect ratio and alignment of cells with regards to collective motion in nature.     

Tistrella mobilis gen nov,sp nov,a novel polyhydroxyalkanoate-producing bacterium belonging to alpha-Proteobacteria

Strain IAM 14872, isolated from wastewater in Thailand, is capable of producing polyhydroxyalkanoate. This bacterium is Gram-negative, rod-shaped, strictly aerobic and highly motile with a single polar flagellum. Both oxidase and catalase activities are positive. The G+C content of DNA is 67.5% and Q-10 is the major quinone. The major cellular fatty acids are C(18:1)omega7c, 2-OH C(18:0) and 3-OH C(14:0). On the basis of the 16S rDNA sequence analysis and phenotypic properties, it is proposed that the strain IAM 14872 be classified in a new genus as Tistrella mobilis gen. nov., sp. nov. The type strain is IAM 14872(T) (=TISTR 1108(T)).     

Two unusual budding bacteria isolated from a swimming pool

S ly , L.I. & H argreaves , M.H. 1984. Two unusual budding bacteria isolated from a swimming pool. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 56 , 479–486.
Two unusual strains of budding bacteria were isolated on a Millipore Pseudomonas Count Water Tester during routine monitoring of Pseudomonas aeruginosa counts in a swimming pool. The first isolate has been identified as Blastobacter sp. It was a yellow-pigmented, Gram negative rod-shaped organism with a polar holdfast by which it attached to solid surfaces or other cells to form rosettes. The cells reproduced by asymmetric division or budding at the free pole of the cell, producing motile daughter cells with a single polar flagellum. The second isolate, which has not yet been identified, was a red-pigmented, Gram negative rod-shaped organism which produced one or more buds at each pole of the cell. Cell division appears to occur by both binary fission and by budding. Both organisms were strict aerobes, catalase and oxidase positive and did not produce acid from glucose in Hugh and Leifson medium.     

Cell shape and chromosome partition in prokaryotes or,why E. coli is rod-shaped and haploid

In the rod-shaped cells of E. coli, chromosome segregation takes place immediately after replication has been completed. A septum then forms between the two sister chromosomes. In the absence of certain membrane proteins, cells grow instead as large, multichromosomal spheres that divide successively in planes that are at right angles to one another. Although multichromosomal, the spherical cells cannot be maintained as heterozygotes. These observations imply that, in these mutants, each individual chromosome gives rise to a separate clone of descendant cells. This suggests a model in which sites for cell division form between pairs of sister chromosomes at the time of segregation, but are not used in spherical cells until further rounds of replication have taken place, thus ensuring clonal (‘hierarchical’) segregation of chromosomes into progeny cells. The role of the morphogenetic membrane proteins is to convert the basically spherical cell into a cylinder that is able to divide as soon as replication and segregation have been completed, and thus to maximise the number of viable cells per genome.     

Isolation of Morphological Mutants of Agrobacterium tumefaciens

Morphological mutants were isolated from a wild strain of Agrobacterium tumefaciens at a high frequency by treatment with a nitrosoguanidine. Seventeen of the 20 mutants isolated were temperature-sensitive. At 27 C, the mutant cells were rod-shaped and at 37 C, spherical or branched, whereas the wild-type cells were rod-shaped at both temperatures.     

Rhodobaca bogoriensis gen. nov. and sp. nov., an alkaliphilic purple nonsulfur bacterium from African Rift Valley soda lakes

From enrichment cultures established for purple nonsulfur bacteria using water and sediment samples from Lake Bogoria and Crater Lake, two soda lakes in the African Rift Valley, three strains of purple nonsulfur bacteria were isolated; strain LBB1 was studied in detail. Cells of strain LBB1 were motile and spherical to rod-shaped, suggesting a relationship to Rhodobacter or Rhodovulum species, and the organism was capable of both phototrophic and chemotrophic growth on a wide variety of organic compounds. Phototrophically grown cultures were yellow to yellow-brown in color and grew optimally at pH 9 (pH range 7.5-10) and 1% NaCl (range 0-10%). In physiological studies of strain LBB1, neither photoautotrophy (H2- or sulfide-dependent) nor nitrogen fixation was observed. Absorption spectra revealed that all three strains contained bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the spheroidene pathway and synthesized only a light-harvesting (LH) I-type photosynthetic antenna complex. Electron microscopy of cells of strain LBB1 revealed a vesicular intracytoplasmic membrane system, although only a few vesicles were observed per cell. The G+C content of strain LBB1 DNA was 59 mol%, significantly lower than that of known Rhodobacter and Rhodovulum species, and its phylogeny as determined by ribosomal RNA gene sequencing placed it within the Rhodobacter/Rhodovulum clade yet distinct from all described species of either of these genera. The unique assemblage of properties observed in strain LBB1 warrants its inclusion in a new genus of purple nonsulfur bacteria and the name Rhodobaca bogoriensis is proposed herein, the genus name reflecting morphological characteristics and the species epithet referring to the habitat.     

Cell growth and cell division in the rod-shaped actinomycete Corynebacterium glutamicum

Bacterial cell growth and cell division are highly complicated and diversified biological processes. In most rod-shaped bacteria, actin-like MreB homologues produce helicoidal structures along the cell that support elongation of the lateral cell wall. An exception to this rule is peptidoglycan synthesis in the rod-shaped actinomycete Corynebacterium glutamicum, which is MreB-independent. Instead, during cell elongation this bacterium synthesizes new cell-wall material at the cell poles whereas the lateral wall remains inert. Thus, the strategy employed by C. glutamicum to acquire a rod-shaped morphology is completely different from that of Escherichia coli or Bacillus subtilis. Cell division in C. glutamicum also differs profoundly by the apparent absence in its genome of homologues of spatial or temporal regulators of cell division, and its cell division apparatus seems to be simpler than those of other bacteria. Here we review recent advances in our knowledge of the C. glutamicum cell cycle in order to further understand this very different model of rod-shape acquisition.     

High radiation and desiccation tolerance of nitrogen-fixing cultures of the cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 emanates from genome/proteome repair capabilities

The filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium, Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 was found to tolerate very high doses of ⁶⁰Co-gamma radiation or prolonged desiccation. Post-stress, cells remained intact and revived all the vital functions. A remarkable capacity to repair highly disintegrated genome and recycle the damaged proteome appeared to underlie such high radioresistance and desiccation tolerance. The close similarity observed between the cellular response to irradiation or desiccation stress lends strong support to the notion that tolerance to these stresses may involve similar mechanisms.     

Phenotypic and Genotypic Description of Sedimenticola selenatireducens Strain CUZ,a Marine (Per)Chlorate-Respiring Gammaproteobacterium,and Its Close Relative the Chlorate-Respiring Sedimenticola Strain NSS

Two (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria, strains CUZ and NSS, were isolated from marine sediments in Berkeley and San Diego, CA, respectively. Strain CUZ respired both perchlorate and chlorate [collectively designated (per)chlorate], while strain NSS respired only chlorate. Phylogenetic analysis classified both strains as close relatives of the gammaproteobacterium Sedimenticola selenatireducens. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) preparations showed the presence of rod-shaped, motile cells containing one polar flagellum. Optimum growth for strain CUZ was observed at 25 to 30°C, pH 7, and 4% NaCl, while strain NSS grew optimally at 37 to 42°C, pH 7.5 to 8, and 1.5 to 2.5% NaCl. Both strains oxidized hydrogen, sulfide, various organic acids, and aromatics, such as benzoate and phenylacetate, as electron donors coupled to oxygen, nitrate, and (per)chlorate or chlorate as electron acceptors. The draft genome of strain CUZ carried the requisite (per)chlorate reduction island (PRI) for (per)chlorate respiration, while that of strain NSS carried the composite chlorate reduction transposon responsible for chlorate metabolism. The PRI of strain CUZ encoded a perchlorate reductase (Pcr), which reduced both perchlorate and chlorate, while the genome of strain NSS included a gene for a distinct chlorate reductase (Clr) that reduced only chlorate. When both (per)chlorate and nitrate were present, (per)chlorate was preferentially utilized if the inoculum was pregrown on (per)chlorate. Historically, (per)chlorate-reducing bacteria (PRB) and chlorate-reducing bacteria (CRB) have been isolated primarily from freshwater, mesophilic environments. This study describes the isolation and characterization of two highly related marine halophiles, one a PRB and the other a CRB, and thus broadens the known phylogenetic and physiological diversity of these unusual metabolisms.