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Novel acid resistance genes from the metagenome of the T into R iver, an extremely acidic environment
Author(s) -
Guazzaroni MaríaEugenia,
Morgante Verónica,
Mirete Salvador,
GonzálezPastor José E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.12021
Subject(s) - biology , gene , metagenomics , bacteria , repressor , function (biology) , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , genetics , gene expression
Summary Microorganisms that thrive in acidic environments are endowed with specialized molecular mechanisms to survive under this extremely harsh condition. In this work, we performed functional screening of six metagenomic libraries from planktonic and rhizosphere microbial communities of the T into R iver, an extremely acidic environment, to identify genes involved in acid resistance. This approach has revealed 15 different genes conferring acid resistance to E scherichia coli , most of which encoding putative proteins of unknown function or previously described proteins not known to be related to acid resistance. Moreover, we were able to assign function to one unknown and three hypothetical proteins. Among the recovered genes were the ClpXP protease, the transcriptional repressor LexA and nucleic acid‐binding proteins such as an RNA ‐binding protein, HU and Dps . Furthermore, nine of the retrieved genes were cloned and expressed in P seudomonas putida and B acillus subtilis and, remarkably, most of them were able to expand the capability of these bacteria to survive under severe acid stress. From this set of genes, four presented a broad‐host range as they enhance the acid resistance of the three different organisms tested. These results expand our knowledge about the different strategies used by microorganisms to survive under extremely acid conditions.