Phylogenetic and structural diversity of aromatically dense pili from environmental metagenomes
| Autor: | Katharine J. Thompson, Rachel L. Simister, Cynthia Henny, Marcus S Bray, David A. Fowle, Jieying Wu, Cory C. Padilla, Jennifer B. Glass, Sean A. Crowe, Frank J. Stewart |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2019 |
| Předmět: |
Ecological niche
0303 health sciences Phylogenetic tree 030306 microbiology Sequence analysis Microorganism biochemical phenomena metabolism and nutrition Biology Pilus 03 medical and health sciences Phylogenetic diversity Evolutionary biology Phylogenetics bacteria human activities Gene 030304 developmental biology |
| DOI: | 10.1101/668343 |
| Popis: | Electroactive type IV pili, or e-pili, are used by some microbial species for extracellular electron transport. Recent studies suggest that e-pili may be more phylogenetically and structurally diverse than previously assumed. Here, we investigated putative e-pilin genes in metagenomes from long term enrichments of Lake Matano sediment and diverse ecosystems including those in which metal reduction is likely important. We found that laboratory enrichments selected for aromatically dense pilins that were phylogenetically and structurally different than those in Lake Matano sediments. The putative e-pilins recovered from environmental metagenomes were diverse in phylogeny and protein length. We found that the majority of e-pilins in the environment may be "full-length" pilins and could be used by diverse bacterial taxa. Our results expand upon the structural and phylogenetic diversity of e-pilins.nnOriginality and SignificanceElectroactive pili (e-pili) are used by microorganisms to respire solid metals in their environment through extracellular electron transfer. Thus, e-pili enable microbes to occupy specific environmental niches. Additionally, the conductive nature of e-pili underscores their potential for biotechnological applications. Currently the repertoire of known e-pili is small, and their environmental distribution is largely unknown. Using sequence analysis, we identified numerous genes encoding putative e-pili from diverse anoxic, metal-rich ecosystems. Our results expand the diversity of putative e-pili in environments where metal oxides may be important electron acceptors for microbial respiration. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|