Common presence of aerobic anoxygenic photosynthesis within the genus Limnohabitans.

In this study, we detected photosynthesis genes pufLM and bchY in 28 out of 46 strains from three Limnohabitans lineages. The obtained pufM sequences are very closely related to environmental pufM sequences detected in various freshwater habitats, indicating ubiquity and potential importance of photoheterotrophic Limnohabitans in nature.Additionally, we sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 5 potentially photoheterotrophic Limnohabitans strains to gain further insights into their phototrophic capacity. The structure of the photosynthesis gene cluster turned out to be highly conserved within the genus Limnohabitans and also among all potentially photosynthetic Betaproteobacteria The expression of photosynthetic complexes was detected in a culture of Limnohabitans planktonicus II-D5(T) using spectroscopic and pigment analyses. This was further verified by a novel combination of infra-red microscopy with fluorescent in situ hybridization.Importance The presented data document that the capacity to perform anoxygenic photosynthesis is common among the members of genus Limnohabitans, indicating that they may have a novel role in freshwater habitats. PMID: 29030444 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]
Source: Applied and Environmental Microbiology - Category: Microbiology Authors: Tags: Appl Environ Microbiol Source Type: research