This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Tyson, G. W.
Right arrow Articles by Banfield, J. F.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Tyson, G. W.
Right arrow Articles by Banfield, J. F.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Tyson, G. W.
Right arrow Articles by Banfield, J. F.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2005, p. 6319-6324, Vol. 71, No. 10
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.10.6319-6324.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Genome-Directed Isolation of the Key Nitrogen Fixer Leptospirillum ferrodiazotrophum sp. nov. from an Acidophilic Microbial Community

Gene W. Tyson,1* Ian Lo,1 Brett J. Baker,2 Eric E. Allen,1 Philip Hugenholtz,1,{dagger} and Jillian F. Banfield1,2

Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management,1 Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Berkeley, California 947202

Received 7 December 2004/ Accepted 10 May 2005

Analysis of assembled random shotgun sequence data from a low-diversity, subsurface acid mine drainage (AMD) biofilm revealed a single nif operon. This was found on a genome fragment belonging to a member of Leptospirillum group III, a lineage in the Nitrospirae phylum with no cultivated representatives. Based on the prediction that this organism is solely responsible for nitrogen fixation in the community, we pursued a selective isolation strategy to obtain the organism in pure culture. An AMD biofilm sample naturally abundant in Leptospirillum group III cells was homogenized, filtered, and serially diluted into a nitrogen-free liquid medium. The resulting culture in the terminal dilution grew autotrophically to a maximum cell density of ~106 cells/ml, oxidizing ferrous iron as the sole energy source. 16S rRNA-internal transcribed spacer region clone library analysis confirmed that the isolate is a member of Leptospirillum group III and that the culture is axenic. We propose the name Leptospirillum ferrodiazotrophum sp. nov. for this iron-oxidizing, free-living diazotroph. This study highlights how environmental sequence data can provide insights for culturing previously uncultured microorganisms.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, 151 Hilgard Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-3111. Phone: (510) 643-2225. Fax: (510) 643-5098. E-mail: gtyson{at}nature.berkeley.edu.

{dagger} Present address: Microbial Ecology Program, Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, October 2005, p. 6319-6324, Vol. 71, No. 10
0099-2240/05/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.71.10.6319-6324.2005
Copyright © 2005, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.



This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Goltsman, D. S. A., Denef, V. J., Singer, S. W., VerBerkmoes, N. C., Lefsrud, M., Mueller, R. S., Dick, G. J., Sun, C. L., Wheeler, K. E., Zemla, A., Baker, B. J., Hauser, L., Land, M., Shah, M. B., Thelen, M. P., Hettich, R. L., Banfield, J. F. (2009). Community Genomic and Proteomic Analyses of Chemoautotrophic Iron-Oxidizing "Leptospirillum rubarum" (Group II) and "Leptospirillum ferrodiazotrophum" (Group III) Bacteria in Acid Mine Drainage Biofilms. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 75: 4599-4615 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Ni, Y., Wan, D., He, K. (2008). 16S rDNA and 16S-23S internal transcribed spacer sequence analyses reveal inter- and intraspecific Acidithiobacillus phylogeny. Microbiology 154: 2397-2407 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Boyd, E. S., Jackson, R. A., Encarnacion, G., Zahn, J. A., Beard, T., Leavitt, W. D., Pi, Y., Zhang, C. L., Pearson, A., Geesey, G. G. (2007). Isolation, Characterization, and Ecology of Sulfur-Respiring Crenarchaea Inhabiting Acid-Sulfate-Chloride-Containing Geothermal Springs in Yellowstone National Park. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 6669-6677 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Banfield, J. F., Tyson, G. W., Allen, E. E., Whitaker, R. J. (2005). The Search for a Molecular-Level Understanding of the Processes that Underpin the Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles. Reviews in Mineralogy and Geochemistry 59: 1-7 [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»