Isolation and characterization of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs from exposed soils from the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica

This study investigated the culturable aerobic phototrophic bacteria present in soil samples collected in the proximity of the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station in the Sot. Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica. Until recently, only oxygenic phototrophic bacteria (Cyanobacteria) were well known from A...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Systematic and Applied Microbiology
Main Authors: Tahon, Guillaume, Willems, Anne
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2017
Subjects:
AAP
Online Access:https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8534550
http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8534550
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.syapm.2017.05.007
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8534550/file/8534553
Description
Summary:This study investigated the culturable aerobic phototrophic bacteria present in soil samples collected in the proximity of the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Station in the Sot. Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica. Until recently, only oxygenic phototrophic bacteria (Cyanobacteria) were well known from Antarctic soils. However, more recent non-cultivation-based studies have demonstrated the presence of anoxygenic phototrophs and, particularly, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in these areas. Approximately 1000 isolates obtained after prolonged incubation under different growth conditions were studied and characterized by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. Representative strains were identified by sequence analysis of 16S rRNA genes. More than half of the isolates grouped among known aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic taxa, particularly with Sphingomonadaceae, Methylobacterium and Brevundimonas. In addition, a total of 330 isolates were tested for the ptesence of key phototrophy genes. While rhodopsin genes were not detected, multiple isolates possessed key genes of the bacteriochlorophyll synthesis pathway. The majority of these potential aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic strains grouped with Alphaproteobacteria (Sphingomonas,Methylobacterium, Brevundimonas and Polymorphobacter).