Gemmatimonas groenlandica sp. nov. Is an Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototroph in the Phylum Gemmatimonadetes

The bacterial phylum Gemmatimonadetes contains members capable of performing bacteriochlorophyll-based phototrophy (chlorophototrophy). However, only one strain of chlorophototrophic Gemmatimonadetes bacteria (CGB) has been isolated to date, hampering our further understanding of their photoheterotrophic lifestyle and the evolution of phototrophy in CGB. By combining a culturomics strategy with a rapid screening technique for chlorophototrophs, we report the isolation of a new member of CGB, Gemmatimonas (G.) groenlandica sp. nov., from the surface water of a stream in the Zackenberg Valley in High Arctic Greenland. Distinct from the microaerophilic G. phototrophica strain AP64T, G. groenlandica strain TET16T is a strictly aerobic anoxygenic phototroph, lacking many oxygen-independent enzymes while possessing an expanded arsenal for coping with oxidative stresses. Its pigment composition and infra-red absorption properties are also different from G. phototrophica, indicating that it possesses a different photosystem apparatus. The complete genome sequence of G. groenlandica reveals unique and conserved features in the photosynthesis gene clusters of CGB. We further analyzed metagenome-assembled genomes of CGB obtained from soil and glacier metagenomes from Northeast Greenland, revealing a wide distribution pattern of CGB beyond the stream water investigated.

Distribution and abundance of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in the tropical coastal waters of Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Aprilyanto V, Sembiring L, Djohan TS. 2020. Distribution and abundance of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria in the tropical coastal waters of Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21: 5506-5513. Aerobic anoxygenic phototroph (AAP) is a community of bacteria capable of performing anoxygenic photosynthesis in the presence of oxygen. AAP abundance in most oceanic regions signals its ecological importance in marine microbial loop. This study was conducted to reveal the distribution and abundance of AAP in Siung coast, Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Total bacterioplankton and AAP were enumerated using acridine orange direct count (AODC) and real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR), respectively. Several water physicochemical parameters as well as dissolved nitrate, ammonium, phosphate, and sulfate were also measured. The results showed that total bacterioplankton was distributed thoroughly in the water column with abundance ranging from 2.5×104 to 3.5×104 cells/mL. Within this total bacterioplankton, AAP ranged from 3.83×102 –7.48×102 cells/mL, comprising about 1% to ~2.5%. Inorganic nutrient concentration, mainly nitrate and phosphate were thought to be the regulating factors to the distribution and abundance of both communities. In conclusion, AAP comprises a relatively low portion of the total bacterioplankton community in the tropical coastal water in Gunungkidul, Yogyakarta.