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Growth of an anaerobic sulfate‐reducing bacterium sustained by oxygen respiratory energy conservation after O 2 ‐driven experimental evolution
Author(s) -
Schoeffler Marine,
Gaudin AnneLaure,
Ramel Fanny,
Valette Odile,
Denis Yann,
Hania Wagdi Ben,
HirschlerRéa Agnès,
Dolla Alain
Publication year - 2019
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 - 10.1111/1462-2920.14466
Subject(s) - desulfovibrio vulgaris , desulfovibrio , biology , oxidative phosphorylation , oxygen , bacteria , anaerobic respiration , biochemistry , sulfate reducing bacteria , anaerobic exercise , sulfate , nad+ kinase , cellular respiration , microbiology and biotechnology , mitochondrion , genetics , enzyme , chemistry , physiology , organic chemistry
Summary Desulfovibrio species are representatives of microorganisms at the boundary between anaerobic and aerobic lifestyles, since they contain the enzymatic systems required for both sulfate and oxygen reduction. However, the latter has been shown to be solely a protective mechanism. By implementing the oxygen‐driven experimental evolution of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, we have obtained strains that have evolved to grow with energy derived from oxidative phosphorylation linked to oxygen reduction. We show that a few mutations are sufficient for the emergence of this phenotype and reveal two routes of evolution primarily involving either inactivation or overexpression of the gene encoding heterodisulfide reductase. We propose that the oxygen respiration for energy conservation that sustains the growth of the O 2 ‐evolved strains is associated with a rearrangement of metabolite fluxes, especially NAD + /NADH, leading to an optimized O 2 reduction. These evolved strains are the first sulfate‐reducing bacteria that exhibit a demonstrated oxygen respiratory process that enables growth.