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Physiologic, Genomic, and Electrochemical Characterization of Two Heterotrophic Marine Sediment Microbes from the <i>Idiomarina</i> Genus
oleh: Jorge Vinales, Joshua Sackett, Leah Trutschel, Waleed Amir, Casey Norman, Edmund Leach, Elizabeth Wilbanks, Annette Rowe
Format: | Article |
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Diterbitkan: | MDPI AG 2022-06-01 |
Deskripsi
Extracellular electron transfer (EET), the process that allows microbes to exchange electrons in a redox capacity with solid interfaces such as minerals or electrodes, has been predominantly described in microbes that use iron during respiration. In this work, we characterize the physiology, genome, and electrochemical properties of two obligately heterotrophic marine microbes that were previously isolated from marine sediment cathode enrichments. Phylogenetic analysis of isolate 16S rRNA genes showed two strains, SN11 and FeN1, belonging to the genus <i>Idiomarina.</i> Strain SN11 was found to be nearly identical to <i>I. loihiensis</i> L2-TR<sup>T</sup>, and strain FeN1 was most closely related to <i>I. maritima</i> 908087<sup>T</sup>. Each strain had a relatively small genome (~2.8–2.9 MB). Phenotypic similarities among FeN1, SN11, and the studied strains include being Gram-negative, motile, catalase- and oxidase-positive, and rod-shaped. Physiologically, all strains appeared to exclusively use amino acids as a primary carbon source for growth. This was consistent with genomic observations. Each strain contained 17 to 22 proteins with heme-binding motifs. None of these were predicted to be extracellular, although seven were of unknown localization and lacked functional annotation beyond cytochrome. Despite the lack of homology to known EET pathways, both FeN1 and SN11 were capable of sustained electron uptake over time in an electrochemical system linked to respiration. Given the association of these <i>Idiomarina</i> strains with electro-active biofilms in the environment and their lack of autotrophic capabilities, we predict that EET is used exclusively for respiration in these microbes.