Deciphering the genome of polyphosphate accumulating actinobacterium Microlunatus phosphovorus.

Abstract

Polyphosphate accumulating organisms (PAOs) belong mostly to Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria and are quite divergent. Under aerobic conditions, they accumulate intracellular polyphosphate (polyP), while they typically synthesize polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) under anaerobic conditions. Many ecological, physiological, and genomic analyses have been performed with proteobacterial PAOs, but few with actinobacterial PAOs. In this study, the whole genome sequence of an actinobacterial PAO, Microlunatus phosphovorus NM-1(T) (NBRC 101784(T)), was determined. The number of genes for polyP metabolism was greater in M. phosphovorus than in other actinobacteria; it possesses genes for four polyP kinases (ppks), two polyP-dependent glucokinases (ppgks), and three phosphate transporters (pits). In contrast, it harbours only a single ppx gene for exopolyphosphatase, although two copies of ppx are generally present in other actinobacteria. Furthermore, M. phosphovorus lacks the phaABC genes for PHA synthesis and the actP gene encoding an acetate/H(+) symporter, both of which play crucial roles in anaerobic PHA accumulation in proteobacterial PAOs. Thus, while the general features of M. phosphovorus regarding aerobic polyP accumulation are similar to those of proteobacterial PAOs, its anaerobic polyP use and PHA synthesis appear to be different.

• Authors: Akatsuki Kawakoshi, Hidekazu Nakazawa, Junji Fukada, Machi Sasagawa, Yoko Katano, Sanae Nakamura, Akira Hosoyama, Hiroki Sasaki, Natsuko Ichikawa, Satoshi Hanada, Yoichi Kamagata, Kazunori Nakamura, Shuji Yamazaki, Nobuyuki Fujita
• Journal: DNA research : an international journal for rapid publication of reports on genes and genomes (DNA Res) Vol. 19 Issue 5 Pg. 383-94 (Oct 2012) ISSN: 1756-1663 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 22923697 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Phosphate Transport Proteins
• Polyhydroxyalkanoates
• Polyphosphates
• Phosphotransferases
• Acid Anhydride Hydrolases
• exopolyphosphatase

Topics

• Acid Anhydride Hydrolases (genetics)
• Base Sequence
• Genome, Bacterial (genetics)
• Molecular Sequence Data
• Phosphate Transport Proteins (genetics)
• Phosphotransferases (genetics)
• Phylogeny
• Physical Chromosome Mapping
• Polyhydroxyalkanoates (genetics)
• Polyphosphates (metabolism)
• Propionibacteriaceae (enzymology, genetics, metabolism)
• Sequence Analysis, DNA