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Short description of Halocynthiibacter arcticus bacterium genome

Last update on the 16th of October, 2016

Halocynthiibacter arcticus, strain PAMC 20958T, is a gram-negative aerobic bacterium isolated from Arctic marin sediment in Svalbard, Norway[1]. The organism taxonomy is[2]:

  • Bacteria
  • Proteobacteria
  • Alphaproteobacteria
  • Rhodobacterales
  • Rhodobacteraceae
  • Halocynthiibacter
  • Halocynthiibacter sp. PAMC 20958

Alphaproteobacteria is a major phylogenetic group in the global oceans, and is assumed to have a significant impact on various biogeochemical cycles. H. arcticus genome was sequenced first in its genus[3]. Main genome properties[4] are presented in the table 1.

Table 1. Main Halocynthiibacter arcticus genome properties
Attribute Value
Latin bacterium name Halocynthiibacter arcticus
Number of fragments in full genome 2
Genome fragments type 1 bacterial circular chromosome and 1 circular plasmid
Total genome length, Mbp 4.37612
Number of genes 4297
Genome annotation date 12th of February, 2016

Biology

H. artcicus is a rod-shaped (fig. 1) non-motile bacterium which produces white colonies. The strain grows at 10-27 °C, at pH 5.5-9.5 and in the presence of 0.5-7.5 % (w/v) of NaCl[1].

Fig. 1. Transmission electron micrograph of a cell of strain PAMC 20958T. Bar, 0.5 µm[1].

The genome contains seven alkaline phosphatase, two lipase, two esterase and one alpha-glucosidase genes. Because the optimal growth temperature is 21°C, the heat sensitivity of these proteins might be valuable in biotechnology. The genome contains genes that may provide resistance to several toxicants, including cadmium, tellurite, arsenate and mercury[3]. Brief description of H. arcticus mercuric reductase can be found here.

References

  1. Baek K, Lee YM, Shin SC, Hwang K, Hwang CY, Hong SG, Lee HK, Halocynthiibacter arcticus sp. nov., isolated from Arctic marine sediment, International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, November 2015 65: 3861-3865, doi: 10.1099/ijsem.0.000507;
  2. H. arcticus PAMC 20958 taxon details at IMG JGI;
  3. Yung Mi Leea,b, Kiwoon Baekc, Jungeun Leea, Hong Kum Leea, Hyun Parka,d, Seung Chul Shin, Complete genome sequence of Halocynthiibacter arcticus PAMC 20958T from an Arctic marine sediment sample, Journal of Biotechnology 224 (2016) 12–13, doi: 10.1016/j.jbiotec.2016.03.005;
  4. H. arcticus organism overview at NCBI.