Labrys okinawensis sp. nov. and Labrys miyagiensis sp. nov., budding bacteria isolated from rhizosphere habitats in Japan, and emended descriptions of the genus Labrys and Labrys monachus

Description of Labrys sedimenti sp. nov., isolated from a diclofenac-degrading enrichment culture, and genome-based reclassification of Labrys portucalensis as a later heterotypic synonym of Labrys neptuniae

A Gram-stain-negative strain, designated as Zidic-5T, was isolated from diclofenac-degrading enrichment culture and characterized using a polyphasic approach to determine its taxonomic position. The 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that strain Zidic-5T belongs to the genus Labrys, with the highest 16S rRNA gene similarity to Labrys neptuniae LMG 23578T (99.13%), followed by Labrys portucalensis F11T (99.06%), Labrys methylaminiphilus JLW10T (98.58%) and Labrys okinawensis DSM 18385T (98.32%). The draft genome sequence of strain Zidic-5T is 7.64 Mb long, and the G+C content of the genome is 63.5 mol%. The orthologous average nucleotide identity and digital DNA-DNA hybridization relatedness values between strain Zidic-5T and its closest relatives were below the threshold values for species demarcation, confirming that strain Zidic-5T is distinctly separated from its closest relatives. Additionally, comparative whole-genome analysis of type strains of L. neptuniae and L. portucalensis indicated that they belong to the same genomic species, suggesting that L. portucalensis is a later heterotypic synonym of L. neptuniae. Cells of strain Zidic-5T were strictly aerobic, coccoid-shaped and non-motile. The predominant fatty acids (>10% of the total) of strain Zidic-5T were C18 : 1 ω7c, C16 : 0 and C19 : 0 cyclo ω7c. The major ubiquinone of strain Zidic-5T was Q-10, while the major polar lipids were phosphatidylcholine, diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine and aminophospholipid. Based on the polyphasic study, it is concluded that strain Zidic-5T represents a novel species of the genus Labrys; thus, the name of Labrys sedimenti sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of the species is strain Zidic-5T (=LMG 33565T=NCAIM B.02686T).

Design and Evaluation of Synthetic Microbial Communities for Effective Fire Blight Disease Control in Apples

Fire blight disease caused by Erwinia amylovora has resulted in extreme economic losses to industrial plants of the Rosaceae family, including apples and pears, since the 1870s. Many countries have used pesticides and bactericides to manage the fire blight disease. However, chemical management leads to the emergence of a pesticide-resistant pathogen population. Therefore, attempts at managing the fire blight disease have been developed and applied using selected microorganisms as a biological control. However, a single strain of the biological control agent showed limited effect in reducing the disease. Here, we designed synthetic microbial communities (SynCom), which involve reconstituting multi-strains rather than relying on a single strain to enhance the disease control efficiency. We constructed the SynCom based on three categorized functions: i) anti-EA strain, ii) keystone taxa in healthy apples, iii) abundant metabolite strain in healthy apples than the fire blight infected apples. SynCom was significantly efficient in suppressing fire blight, achieving 0% disease severity in apple fruits, 1.67% in roses, and 5.4% in apple plants. Our finding presented that the well-designed SynCom showed significant effects in controlling the fire blight disease. Additionally, SynCom members should be selected based on multiple functions to maximize the impact on crop management.

Removal of Ibuprofen in Water by Bioaugmentation with Labrys neptuniae CSW11 Isolated from Sewage Sludge-Assessment of Biodegradation Pathway Based on Metabolite Formation and Genomic Analysis

Ibuprofen (IBP) is one of the most consumed drugs in the world. It is only partially removed in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), being present in effluent wastewater and sewage sludge, causing the widespread introduction of IBP as an emergent xenobiotic in different environmental compartments. This study describes the use of Labrys neptuniae CSW11, recently described as an IBP degrader, through bioaugmentation processes for the removal of IBP from water under different conditions (additional carbon sources, various concentrations of glucose and IBP). L. neptuniae CSW11 showed very good results in a wide range of IBP concentrations, with 100% removal in only 4 days for 1 and 5 mg L-1 IBP and 7 days for 10 mg L-1, and up to 48.4% removal in 28 days for IBP 100 mg L-1 when using glucose 3 g L-1 as an additional carbon source. Three IBP metabolites were identified during the biotransformation process: 1-hydroxyibuprofen (1-OH-IBP), 2-hydroxyibuprofen (2-OH-IBP), and carboxyibuprofen (CBX-IBP), whose concentrations declined drastically in the presence of glucose. IBP metabolites maintained a certain degree of toxicity in solution, even when IBP was completely removed. The results indicate that L. neptuniae CSW11 can be quite effective in degrading IBP in water, but the bioaugmentation method should be improved using CSW11 in consortia with other bacterial strains able to degrade the toxic metabolites produced. A genome-based analysis of L. neptuniae CSW11 revealed different enzymes that could be involved in IBP biodegradation, and a potential metabolic pathway was proposed based on the metabolites observed and genome analysis.

Gut mucosal microbiota profiles linked to development of positional-specific human colorectal cancer

Colorectal cancer (CRC) continuously ranks as the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. Based on anatomical classifications and clinical diagnoses, CRC is classified into right-sided, left-sided, and rectal CRC. Importantly, the three types of positional-specific CRC affect the prognosis outcomes, thus indicating that positional-specific treatments for CRC are required. Emerging evidence suggests that besides host genetic and epigenetic alterations, gut mucosal microbiota is linked to gut inflammation, CRC occurrence, and prognoses. However, gut mucosal microbiota associated with positional-specific CRC are poorly investigated. Here, we report the gut mucosal microbiota profiles associated with these three types of CRC. Our analysis showed that the unique composition and biodiversity of bacterial taxa are linked to positional-specific CRC. We found that a combination of bacterial taxa can serve as potential biomarkers to distinguish the three types of CRC. Further investigations of the physiological roles of bacteria associated with positional-specific CRC may help understand the mechanism of CRC progression in different anatomical locations under the impact of gut mucosal microbiota.

Draft Genome Sequence of Labrys okinawensis, Isolated from Acaciella sp. Nodules in Mexico

A new plant-associated bacterium, Labrys okinawensis strain LIt4, was isolated from root nodules of wild Acaciella sp. in Morelos, Mexico. The 6,499,737-bp genome sequence provides opportunities to investigate a new reference strain to add information about the species L. okinawensis .

Labrys soli sp. nov., isolated from the rhizosphere of ginseng

In this study, we describe strain DCY64T that was isolated from the rhizosphere of three-year-old Korean ginseng root. Cells were Gram-reaction negative, oxidase- and catalase-positive, strictly aerobic, capsulated, non-motile, non-sporulating and spherical to short rod-shaped. Multiplicative budding cells were produced. Vesicles covered the surface of cells. Phylogenetic analysis placed strain DCY64T within the genus Labrys with the highest similarity to Labrys monachus VKM B-1479T (97.6 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), followed by Labrys okinawensis MAFF 210191T (97.5 %), Labrys miyagiensis G24103T (97.4) and Labrys portucalensis F11T (97.0 %). The genomic DNA G+C content was 63 mol%. The presences of summed feature 8 (C18 : 1ω7c and/or C18 : 1ω6c), C19 : 1 cyclo ω8c and C16 : 0 as major fatty acids; phosphatidylmonomethylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylcholine and diphosphatidylglycerol as major polar lipids; ubiquinone Q-10 as the predominant quinone and sym-homospermidine as the dominant polyamine were found in strain DCY64T. These chemotaxonomic results were in accordance with those of members of the genus Labrys. However, the absence of C16 : 0 2-OH, C16 : 0 3-OH and C18 : 1 2-OH from the fatty acids profile and differences in minor polar lipids and phenotypic characteristics distinguished strain DCY64T from the closest type strains. The discrimination was also supported by unique enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus sequence PCR (ERIC-PCR) fingerprints, as well as DNA-DNA hybridization values ( ≤ 48 %) between strain DCY64T and related type strains. Therefore, we propose that strain DCY64T represents a novel species of the genus Labrys. The name Labrys soli sp. nov. is proposed, with DCY64T ( = KCTC 32173T = JCM 19895T) as the type strain.

Proposal of Vibrionimonas magnilacihabitans gen. nov., sp. nov., a curved Gram-stain-negative bacterium isolated from lake water

A mesophilic bacterium appearing as curved rod-shaped cells was isolated from Lake Michigan water. It exhibited highest similarities with Sediminibacterium ginsengisoli DCY13T (94.4 %); Sediminibacterium salmoneum NJ-44T (93.6 %) and Hydrotalea flava CCUG 51397 T (93.1 %) while similarities with other recognized species were <92.0 %. The primary polar lipid was phosphatidylethanolamine, with moderate amounts of two unidentified glycolipids, three unknown polar lipids, one unknown aminophospholipid and one aminolipid. The primary respiratory quinone was MK-7 and sym-homospermidine was the primary polyamine. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 1G, iso-C15 : 0, iso-C16 : 0 3-OH and iso-C17 : 0 3-OH, with moderate amounts of iso-C16 : 0. The presence of glycolipids differentiated the novel strains from related genera. The DNA mol% G+C content of the type strain MU-2T was 45.2. Results for other phenotypic and molecular analyses indicated that strain MU-2T is a representative of a novel genus and species for which the name Vibrionimonas magnilacihabitans is proposed. The type strain is MU-2T ( = NRRL B-59231 = DSM 22423).

Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum sp. nov., a psychrophilic bacterium isolated from Lake Michigan water

A psychrophilic, Gram-negative bacterium, designated MOL-1T, was isolated from water of Lake Michigan. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis revealed that the sequence of strain MOL-1T has sequence similarity of 95.6, 94.8, 94.3, 94.3, 94.2 and 93.9 %, respectively, to the 16S rRNA gene sequences of Sphingobacterium shayense HS39T, S. lactis WCC 4512T, S. composti T5-12T, S. daejeonense TR6-04T, S. bambusae IBFC2009T and S. alimentarium WCC 4521T. The major cellular fatty acids were iso-C15 : 0, iso-C17 : 0 3-OH and summed feature 3 (iso-C15 : 0 2-OH and/or C16 : 1ω7c). Menaquinone MK-7 is the predominant respiratory quinone, while sym-homospermidine is the predominant polyamine. The polar lipid profile is composed of the predominant lipids phosphatidylethanolamine and unidentified polar lipid L2, with moderate amounts of unidentified polar lipids L1, L5 and L6 and unidentified aminophospholipids APL1 and APL2 and minor to trace amounts of unidentified polar lipids L3, L4, L7, L8, L9 and L10, unidentified phospholipid PL4 and unidentified aminophospholipid APL3. After molecular and phenotypic studies, including chemotaxonomic analyses, it was concluded that strain MOL-1T represents a novel Sphingobacterium species, for which the name Sphingobacterium psychroaquaticum sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is MOL-1T ( = NRRL B-59232T  = DSM 22418T).

Acetylation of fluoroquinolone antimicrobial agents by an Escherichia coli strain isolated from a municipal wastewater treatment plant

AIMS

To isolate environmental bacteria capable of transforming fluoroquinolones to inactive molecules.

METHODS AND RESULTS

Bacteria were isolated from the aerobic liquor of a wastewater treatment plant on a medium containing norfloxacin (100 mg l(-1)). Twenty-two isolates were highly resistant (minimal inhibitory concentration: 6.25-200 microg ml(-1)) to five fluoroquinolones and six of them were positive by PCR amplification for the aminoglycoside resistance gene aac(6')-Ib. Of these, only Escherichia coli strain LR09 had the ciprofloxacin-acetylating variant gene aac(6')-Ib-cr; HPLC and mass spectrometry showed that this strain transformed both ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin by N-acetylation. This bacterium also had mutations in the quinolone-resistance determining regions of the gyrA and parC genes.

CONCLUSIONS

An E. coli isolate from wastewater, which possessed at least two distinct fluoroquinolone resistance mechanisms, inactivated ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin by N-acetylation.

SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY

This is the first report of N-acetylation of fluoroquinolones by an aac(6')-Ib-cr-containing bacterium from an environmental source.

Labrys wisconsinensis sp. nov., a budding bacterium isolated from Lake Michigan water, and emended description of the genus Labrys

Two facultatively anaerobic, budding bacterial strains, designated W1215-PCA4(T) and SRNK-1, were isolated from water from Lake Michigan, USA. The two strains showed identical ERIC-PCR-generated genomic fingerprints and shared 99.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity. Strain W1215-PCA4(T) showed highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities to Labrys monachus VKM B-1479(T) (95.8 %), Labrys methylaminiphilus DSM 16812(T) (95.1 %), Labrys okinawensis MAFF 210191(T) (96.0 %), Labrys miyagiensis G24103(T) (95.4 %), Labrys neptuniae BCRC 17578(T) (95.7 %) and Labrys portucalensis DSM 17916(T) (95.8 %). Data suggested that the two strains were members of a single novel species of the genus Labrys. The major cellular fatty acids of the two isolates were C(18 : 1)omega7c, C(19 : 0) cyclo omega8c and C(16 : 0). Their polar lipid profiles were highly similar to that of Labrys monachus DSM 5896(T). The primary quinone was ubiquinone Q-10, with minor amounts of Q-9 and Q-11. sym-Homospermidine was the predominant polyamine, with putrescine present in moderate amounts. The two strains were identical in terms of their biochemical and physiological traits, but were distinguishable from other species of the genus Labrys. Hence, the description of a novel species in this genus appears to be justified. The name Labrys wisconsinensis sp. nov. is proposed; the type strain is W1215-PCA4(T) (=DSM 19619(T)=NRRL B-51088(T)).