Whole genome analysis of the marine Bacteroidetes'Gramella forsetii' reveals adaptations to degradation of polymeric organic matter.

Members of the Bacteroidetes, formerly known as the Cytophaga-Flavobacteria-Bacteroides (CFB) phylum, are among the major taxa of marine heterotrophic bacterioplankton frequently found on macroscopic organic matter particles (marine snow). In addition, they have been shown to also represent a significant part of free-living microbial assemblages in nutrient-rich microenvironments. Their abundance and distribution pattern in combination with enzymatic activity studies has led to the notion that organisms of this group are specialists for degradation of high molecular weight compounds in both the dissolved and particulate fraction of the marine organic matter pool, implying a major role of Bacteroidetes in the marine carbon cycle. Despite their ecological importance, comprehensive molecular data on organisms of this group have been scarce so far. Here we report on the first whole genome analysis of a marine Bacteroidetes representative, 'Gramella forsetii' KT0803. Functional analysis of the predicted proteome disclosed several traits which in joint consideration suggest a clear adaptation of this marine Bacteroidetes representative to the degradation of high molecular weight organic matter, such as a substantial suite of genes encoding hydrolytic enzymes, a predicted preference for polymeric carbon sources and a distinct capability for surface adhesion.

Transcriptional organization and regulation of magnetosome operons in Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense.

Genes involved in magnetite biomineralization are clustered within the genomic magnetosome island of Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense. Their transcriptional organization and regulation were studied by several approaches. Cotranscription of genes within the mamAB, mamDC, and mms clusters was demonstrated by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) of intergenic regions, indicating the presence of long polycistronic transcripts extending over more than 16 kb. The transcription start points of the mamAB, mamDC, and mms operons were mapped at 22 bp, 52 bp, and 58 bp upstream of the first genes of the operons, respectively. Identified -10 and -35 boxes of the P(mamAB), P(mamDC), and P(mms) promoters showed high similarity to the canonical sigma(70) recognition sequence. The transcription of magnetosome genes was further studied in response to iron and oxygen. Transcripts of magnetosome genes were detected by RT-PCR both in magnetic cells grown microaerobically under iron-sufficient conditions and in nonmagnetic cells grown either aerobically or with iron limitation. The presence of transcripts was found to be independent of the growth phase. Further results from partial RNA microarrays targeting the putative magnetosome transcriptome of M. gryphiswaldense and real-time RT-PCR experiments indicated differences in expression levels depending on growth conditions. The expression of the mam and mms genes was down-regulated in nonmagnetic cells under iron limitation and, to a lesser extent, during aerobic growth compared to that in magnetite-forming cells grown microaerobically under iron-sufficient conditions.

Evaluation of gene expression analysis using RNA-targeted partial genome arrays.

Highly parallel cDNA targeting microarrays have been established over the last years as the quasi-standard for genome wide expression profiling in pro- and eukaryotes. Protocols for the direct detection of RNA or aRNA (amplified RNA) are currently emerging. This allows to circumvent the bias introduced by enzymatic target molecule preparation. To systematically evaluate the extent of non-specific target binding on oligonucleotide microarrays designed for total RNA expression profiling, a model system of 70-mer probes targeting genes involved in magnetosome formation (mam genes) of the bacterium Magnetospirillum gryphiswaldense was established utilizing wild-type strain MSR-1 and an isogenic deletion mutant MSR-1B that lacks all mam genes. An optimized protocol for the direct chemical labelling of total cellular RNAs was used. A linear correlation between the amount of applied RNA and the mean global background intensity was found which enables a simple and unbiased way of normalizing the data. The results obtained with the mam deletion mutant MSR-1B revealed a significant number of false positive signals, even under optimal hybridization conditions. This indicates a high degree of non-specific binding in microarray experiments when using longer oligo- or polynucleotides and RNA as target molecule. Comparative microarray analysis of an MSR-1B culture and two MSR-1 wild-type cultures grown under different conditions was done via a three-colour hybridization assay. The additional information provided by the MSR-1B transcriptome revealed differential gene expression in the two MSR-1 cultures, which was otherwise undetectable.