Draft Genome Sequence of Clostridium bowmanii DSM 14206 T , Isolated from an Antarctic Microbial Mat

Clostridium bowmanii type strain DSM 14206 (ATCC BAA-581) was isolated from a microbial mat sample retrieved from Lake Fryxell, Antarctica. This report describes the generation and annotation of the 4.9-Mb draft genome sequence of C. bowmanii DSM 14206 T .

Taxonomic composition and proteolytic potential in the microbial mat of the Uro hot spring (the Baikal rift zone)

We studied the taxonomic diversity of microbial mat in the Uro hot spring (the Baikal rift zone, BRZ) with temperatures of 62°C (Ur-3) and 56°C (Ur-4). According to the results of high-throughput sequencing, the composition of the community is represented by various phylogenetic groups Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Deinococcus-Thermus, Chloroflexi, Firmicutes, and Bacteroidetes involved in different stages of organic matter production and degradation in microbial mats. According to metagenomic analysis, there is a wide variety of natural peptidases, enhancing the potential of their specialised functions of energy and substance conversion in microbial mats.

Chemical component depositions in the microbial mats and travertine in the Khoito-Gol thermal spring (Eastern Sayan)

The results of studies of the chemical composition of water, travertine, and microbial mats in the Khoito-Gol mineral spring (Eastern Sayan) are presented. It was shown that the formation of mineral deposits, travertine, and microbial mat is connected with the active functioning of microorganisms and geological and geodynamic conditions. It has been revealed that the diversity of cyanobacterial and sulfur microbial mats increases as the distance from the springs of the thermal water grows. Microbial mats are hardened with carbonates being converted into solid travertine crusts that are built upon the top of older structures to form multi-meter domes. The concentration function of the microbial mats and thermal water showed higher coefficients of accumulation of nickel and beryllium.

Bacterial Protease Inhibitors as Antibacterial agents to prevent Bacterial Infections Associated with Biofilms

Isolation of protease inhibitor producing bacteria from microbial mat and investigating its anti-biofilm potential against biofilm producing organism was selected as the main objective of the present study. Protease inhibitor (PI) was produced from bacterial isolates and purified using ammonium sulphate precipitation methods. Primary and secondary protease inhibitor assay was carried out separately to confirm the inhibition of protease enzyme activity both qualitatively and quantitatively. Antibacterial activity and anti-biofilm assay was performed to determine the biofilm prevention capabilities of PI. Three isolates (B1PI, B2PI and B3PI) were screened and B2PI bacterial culture was selected based on the results of primary and secondary protease inhibitor assay. Maximum trypsin inhibition of 77.5±0.25% was recorded for the isolate B2PI. Antibacterial activity of the B2PI protease inhibitor fractions exhibited inhibitory zones of 22.3±1.04mm and 20.2±0.25mm against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus respectively. Anti-biofilm assay of protease inhibitor fractions expressed 31.2μl/ml of MBIC against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The results conclude that, the protease inhibitor from the microbial mat isolate will be an effective alternative to the commercial antibiotics either alone or in combination with other drugs synergistically which shall be studied elaborately in future.

Extant Earthly Microbial Mats and Microbialites as Models for Exploration of Life in Extraterrestrial Mat Worlds

As we expand the search for life beyond Earth, a water-dominated planet, we turn our eyes to other aquatic worlds. Microbial life found in Earth’s many extreme habitats are considered useful analogs to life forms we are likely to find in extraterrestrial bodies of water. Modern-day benthic microbial mats inhabiting the low-oxygen, high-sulfur submerged sinkholes of temperate Lake Huron (Michigan, USA) and microbialites inhabiting the shallow, high-carbonate waters of subtropical Laguna Bacalar (Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico) serve as potential working models for exploration of extraterrestrial life. In Lake Huron, delicate mats comprising motile filaments of purple-pigmented cyanobacteria capable of oxygenic and anoxygenic photosynthesis and pigment-free chemosynthetic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria lie atop soft, organic-rich sediments. In Laguna Bacalar, lithification by cyanobacteria forms massive carbonate reef structures along the shoreline. Herein, we document studies of these two distinct earthly microbial mat ecosystems and ponder how similar or modified methods of study (e.g., robotics) would be applicable to prospective mat worlds in other planets and their moons (e.g., subsurface Mars and under-ice oceans of Europa). Further studies of modern-day microbial mat and microbialite ecosystems can add to the knowledge of Earth’s biodiversity and guide the search for life in extraterrestrial hydrospheres.

High-Quality Draft Genome Sequence of the Siderophilic and Thermophilic Leptolyngbyaceae Cyanobacterium JSC-12

The siderophilic, thermophilic Leptolyngbyaceae cyanobacterium JSC-12 was isolated from a microbial mat in an iron-depositing hot spring. Here, we report the high-quality draft genome sequence of JSC-12, which may help elucidate the mechanisms of resistance to extreme iron concentrations in siderophilic cyanobacteria and lead to new remediation biotechnologies.