Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1111/1462-2920.15956
Licence creative commons licence
Title (Primary) Genome and proteome analyses show the gaseous alkane degrader Desulfosarcina sp. strain BuS5 as an extreme metabolic specialist
Author Chen, S.-C.; Ji, J.; Popp, D.; Jaekel, U.; Richnow, H.-H.; Sievert, S.M.; Musat, F.
Source Titel Environmental Microbiology
Year 2022
Department ISOBIO; UMB
Volume 24
Issue 4
Page From 1964
Page To 1976
Language englisch
Topic T7 Bioeconomy
Supplements https://sfamjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/action/downloadSupplement?doi=10.1111%2F1462-2920.15956&file=emi15956-sup-0001-Supinfo.docx
Abstract The metabolic potential of the sulfate-reducing bacterium Desulfosarcina sp. strain BuS5, currently the only pure culture able to oxidize the volatile alkanes propane and butane without oxygen, was investigated via genomics, proteomics and physiology assays. Complete genome sequencing revealed that strain BuS5 encodes a single alkyl-succinate synthase, an enzyme which apparently initiates oxidation of both propane and butane. The formed alkyl-succinates are oxidized to CO2 via beta oxidation and the oxidative Wood–Ljungdahl pathways as shown by proteogenomics analyses. Strain BuS5 conserves energy via the canonical sulfate reduction pathway and electron bifurcation. An ability to utilize long-chain fatty acids, mannose and oligopeptides, suggested by automated annotation pipelines, was not supported by physiology assays and in-depth analyses of the corresponding genetic systems. Consistently, comparative genomics revealed a streamlined BuS5 genome with a remarkable paucity of catabolic modules. These results establish strain BuS5 as an exceptional metabolic specialist, able to grow only with propane and butane, for which we propose the name Desulfosarcina aeriophaga BuS5. This highly restrictive lifestyle, most likely the result of habitat-driven evolutionary gene loss, may provide D. aeriophaga BuS5 a competitive edge in sediments impacted by natural gas seeps.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=25818
Chen, S.-C., Ji, J., Popp, D., Jaekel, U., Richnow, H.-H., Sievert, S.M., Musat, F. (2022):
Genome and proteome analyses show the gaseous alkane degrader Desulfosarcina sp. strain BuS5 as an extreme metabolic specialist
Environ. Microbiol. 24 (4), 1964 - 1976 10.1111/1462-2920.15956