Transcriptomics ‐guided identification of an algicidal protease of the marine bacterium Kordia algicida OT‐1

In this study, we utilize a transcriptomics-guided approach to identify the secreted serine protease AlpA1 as a key factor in the algicidal process. This discovery offers new approaches for the real-time monitoring and manipulation of algicidal bacteria in algal blooms. AbstractIn recent years, interest in algicidal bacteria has risen due to their ecological importance and their potential as biotic regulators of harmful algal blooms. Algicidal bacteria shape the plankton communities of the oceans by inhibiting or lysing microalgae and by consuming the released nutrients.Kordia algicida strain OT-1 is a model marine algicidal bacterium that was isolated from a bloom of the diatomSkeletonema costatum. Previous work has suggested that algicidal activity is mediated by secreted proteases. Here, we utilize a transcriptomics-guided approach to identify the serine protease geneKAOT1_RS09515, hereby namedalpA1 as a key element in the algicidal activity ofK. algicida. The protease AlpA1 was expressed and purified from a heterologous host and used in in vitro bioassays to validate its activity. We also show thatK. algicida is the only algicidal species within a group of four members of theKordia genus. The identification of this algicidal protease opens the possibility of real-time monitoring of the ecological impact of algicidal bacteria in natural phytoplankton blooms.
Source: MicrobiologyOpen - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research