My last thesis chapter finally submitted (only 3.33 years post-phd…) to Extremophiles!

An inter-Order horizontal gene transfer event enables the catabolism of compatible solutes by Colwellia psychrerythraea 34H [PDF]

Conclusions– In a previous analysis of the genome of C. psychrerythraea 34H, a psychrophilic, halophilic marine bacterium, Methe et al. (2005) identified a duplicated operon encoding for heterotetrameric sarcosine oxidase (SoxBDAG), an enzyme involved in the catabolism of glycine betaine, a common osmoprotectant molecule. In the present genomic analysis we have identified this operon as the result of a horizontal gene transfer event. Molecular evolutionary estimates of important events in the adaptation of C. psychrerythraea 34H to compatible solute utilization appear to recapitulate the geological evolution of the polar regions. We have also demonstrated the genetic potential for C. psychrerythraea 34H to use both choline and glycine betaine as substrates for growth. Furthermore, we successfully grew C. psychrerythraea 34H on a medium containing sarcosine as the sole source of carbon and energy, which was then developed into SLV, a defined medium for the rapid growth of many Colwellia species. With these developments, Colwellia species, which previously could only be grown rapidly in Marine Broth, can be included in more defined and sophisticated studies of its strategies to survive and compete in extreme environments.

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