Abosamaha, A., Williamson, M.P. orcid.org/0000-0001-5572-1903 and Gilmour, D.J. (2022) Utilization and accumulation of compatible solutes in Halomonas pacifica: a species of moderately halophilic bacteria isolated from a saline lake in South Libya. Access Microbiology, 4 (5). 000359. ISSN 2516-8290
Abstract
When grown in high salt concentrations, halophilic bacteria often accumulate compatible solutes, which have major applications in biotechnology because they stabilize cells and proteins. Four Gram-negative bacterial strains, belonging to the family Halomonadaceae, were isolated from Qaberoun and Um-Alma lakes in South Libya using high-salinity medium. The strains were identified using 16S rRNA gene sequencing as belonging to Halomonas pacifica (strain ABQ1), Halomonas venusta (ABQ2), Halomonas elongata (ABU1) and Halomonas salifodinae (ABU2). H. pacifica ABQ1 is a moderate halophile (salinity range 0.05 to 2.5 M NaCl), with a broad tolerance to pH (7 to 9) and temperature (25–37 °C). Addition of the compatible solutes glycine betaine (betaine) and ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidine carboxylic acid) to the medium had a positive effect on growth of H. pacifica at 2 M NaCl. In rich LB medium, betaine was the major compatible solute accumulated, with ectoine only being accumulated at salinities in excess of 1 M NaCl. In minimal M9 medium, betaine was not produced, but increasing amounts of ectoine were synthesized with increasing salinity, and hydroxyectoine [(4S,5S)−5-hydroxy-2-methyl-1,4,5,6-tetrahydropyrimidine-4-carboxylic acid] was also synthesized when the cells were grown in very high salt. We have thus identified H. pacifica as a producer of ectoine and hydroxyectoine, with more being produced at higher salinities. As industrial demand for these compatible solutes continues to increase, this system has biotechnological potential.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2022 The Authors. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ast) This article was made open access via a Publish and Read agreement between the Microbiology Society and the corresponding author’s institution. |
Keywords: | halophilic bacteria; Halomonas bacteria; compatible solutes; extreme environments; ectoine |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Science (Sheffield) > School of Biosciences (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 07 Oct 2022 15:14 |
Last Modified: | 10 Feb 2023 14:14 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Microbiology Society |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1099/acmi.0.000359 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:191371 |