Insight into the evolution of microbial metabolism from the deep-branching bacterium, Thermovibrio ammonificans

Abstract
Data availability
Article and author information
Metrics

Abstract

Anaerobic thermophiles inhabit relic environments that resemble the early Earth. However, the lineage of these modern organisms co-evolved with our planet. Hence, these organisms carry both ancestral and acquired genes and serve as models to reconstruct early metabolism. Based on comparative genomic and proteomic analyses, we identified two distinct groups of genes in Thermovibrio ammonificans: the first codes for enzymes that do not require oxygen and use substrates of geothermal origin; the second appears to be a more recent acquisition, and may reflect adaptations to cope with the rise of oxygen on Earth. We propose that the ancestor of the Aquificae was originally a hydrogen oxidizing, sulfur reducing bacterium that used a hybrid carbon fixation pathway for CO₂ fixation. With the gradual rise of oxygen in the atmosphere, more efficient terminal electron acceptors became available and this lineage acquired genes that increased its metabolic flexibility while retaining ancestral metabolic traits.

Data availability

The following previously published data sets were used

1. Lucas S
2. Copeland A
3. Lapidus A
4. Cheng J-F
5. Goodwin L
6. Pitluck S
7. Davenport K
8. Detter JC
9. Han C
10. Tapia R
11. Land M
12. Hauser L
13. Kyrpides N
14. Ivanova N
15. Ovchinnikova G
16. Vetriani C
17. Woyke T
(2007) Thermovibrio ammonificans complete genome sequence
Publicly available at the NCBI Genome (accession no: NC_014926.1).

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/?term=NC_014926.1

Article and author information

Author details

Donato Giovannelli

Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States

For correspondence
giovannelli@marine.rutgers.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Stefan M Sievert

Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, United States

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Michael Hügler

DVGW-Technologiezentrum Wasser, Karlsruhe, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-2820-0333
Stephanie Markert

Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Dörte Becher

Institute for Microbiology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Thomas Schweder

Institute for Microbiology, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.
Costantino Vetriani

Institute of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, United States

For correspondence
vetriani@marine.rutgers.edu

Competing interests
The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

"This ORCID iD identifies the author of this article:" 0000-0002-8141-8438

Funding

National Science Foundation (MCB 04-56676)

Costantino Vetriani

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NNX15AM18G)

Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (OCE 03-27353)

Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (MCB 08-43678)

Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (OCE 09-37371)

Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (OCE 11-24141)

Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (MCB 15-17567)

Donato Giovannelli
Costantino Vetriani

National Science Foundation (OCE-1136727)

Stefan M Sievert

The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.

Copyright

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.