Credit: SciTechDaily.comA groundbreaking study of the huge bacterium Epulopiscium viviparus reveals its special energy production, promising future applications in algae utilization.Not all germs are developed equal.Most are single-celled and small, a few ten-thousandths of a centimeter long. While a lot of germs recreate by dividing themselves in half to produce 2 offspring, E. viviparus produce as numerous as 12 copies of themselves, which grow inside a parent cell and then get released, “active and swimming– viviparus means live birth,” Angert said.Research MethodologyStudying these huge germs requires capturing the fish in which they live and maintaining the cells or drawing out DNA and RNA as rapidly and thoroughly as possible, said Angert, who for decades has actually worked together with fish biologists at Lizard Island Research Station in Australia to collect and study samples.Metabolic InsightsThe scientists were especially interested to find out how E. viviparus fuels its extreme metabolic requirements. Without oxygen, bacteria often use fermentation to extract energy, and “fermenting organisms just do not get as much bang for the buck from nutrients,” Angert said.Seeing that E. viviparus is certainly a fermenter simply made the puzzle bigger, as its huge size, extreme recreation, and ability to swim would all need more energy, not less.Genetic Adaptations and Energy ProductionThe scientists discovered that E. viviparus has actually modified its metabolic process to make the most of its environment, by utilizing an unusual approach to make energy and to move (the same swimming approach is used by the bacteria that trigger cholera), and by committing a huge portion of its genetic code to making enzymes that can collect the nutrients offered in its hosts gut.
Researchers have translated the genome of Epulopiscium viviparus, a huge bacterium living in surgeonfish, revealing special metabolic adjustments and energy production methods. This study provides prospective applications in algae-based nutrition and energy. Credit: SciTechDaily.comA groundbreaking study of the huge germs Epulopiscium viviparus shows its unique energy production, promising future applications in algae utilization.Not all bacteria are produced equal.Most are single-celled and small, a few ten-thousandths of a centimeter long. However bacteria of the Epulopiscium family are big enough to be seen with the naked eye and 1 million times the volume of their better-known cousins, E. coli.Discovery and Study of a Giant BacteriumIn a study released recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists from Cornell and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have for the very first time described the full genome of one types of the family of giants, which theyve named Epulopiscium viviparus.”This amazing giant bacterium is unique and intriguing in so lots of methods: its massive size, its mode of reproduction, the methods by which it satisfies its metabolic needs and more,” stated Esther Angert, professor of microbiology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and corresponding author of the research study. “Revealing the genomic potential of this organism just type of blew our minds.”Micrograph of a group of Epulopiscium viviparus germs. Credit: Esther AngertHabitat and CharacteristicsThe initially member of the Epulopiscium family was discovered in 1985. All members of the species live symbiotically within the digestive tracts of specific surgeonfish in tropical marine coral reef environments, such as the Great Barrier Reef and in the Red Sea.Because of its colossal size, researchers initially thought it was some unique type of protozoan, Angert stated. The name Epulopiscium originates from the Latin roots epulo, implying “a guest,” and piscium, “of a fish.” While a lot of bacteria recreate by dividing themselves in half to create two offspring, E. viviparus produce as numerous as 12 copies of themselves, which grow inside a parent cell and after that get released, “active and swimming– viviparus means live birth,” Angert said.Research MethodologyStudying these huge germs needs catching the fish in which they live and preserving the cells or drawing out DNA and RNA as quickly and thoroughly as possible, said Angert, who for years has actually worked together with fish biologists at Lizard Island Research Station in Australia to gather and study samples.Metabolic InsightsThe researchers were particularly interested to discover how E. viviparus fuels its severe metabolic needs. Bacteria that feed off nutrients in their environment, rather than developing their own energy from sunlight, normally fall into two camps: those that have access to oxygen and those that do not. Without oxygen, germs typically utilize fermentation to extract energy, and “fermenting organisms just dont get as much bang for the dollar from nutrients,” Angert said.Seeing that E. viviparus is certainly a fermenter just made the puzzle bigger, as its huge size, extreme recreation, and ability to swim would all require more energy, not less.Genetic Adaptations and Energy ProductionThe researchers found that E. viviparus has customized its metabolism to take advantage of its environment, by using a rare method to make energy and to move (the exact same swimming approach is utilized by the germs that trigger cholera), and by dedicating a big portion of its genetic code to making enzymes that can harvest the nutrients readily available in its hosts gut. Among the most highly produced enzymes are those used to make ATP, the energy currency of all cells. An extremely folded membrane that runs along the outer edge of E. viviparus supplies essential space for the energy-producing and -carrying proteins, with some unexpected resemblances to how mitochondria function in the cells of more complex organisms, Angert stated.”We all know that phrase the mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell,” Angert said, “and amazingly, these membranes in E. viviparus have type of converged on the same model as the mitochondria: They have an extremely folded membrane that increases area where these energy-producing pumps can work, and that increased surface area develops a powerhouse of energy.”Potential Applications and Future ResearchThis standard research study has a host of possible future applications, especially as E. viviparus has such reliable strategies to utilize the nutrients discovered in algae, Angert stated. Algae is a growing target for animals feeds, renewable resource, and human nutrition, considering that its growth does not take on land-based agriculture.Reference: “The extraordinary kind and function of the giant germs Ca. Epulopiscium viviparus focuses on its sodium motive force” by David R. Sannino, Francine A. Arroyo, Charles Pepe-Ranney, Wenbo Chen, Jean-Marie Volland, Nathalie H. Elisabeth and Esther R. Angert, 18 December 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/ pnas.2306160120 First author of the research study is David Sannino, Ph.D. 17, a former postdoctoral partner in Angerts lab. Other co-authors are Francine Arroyo, Ph.D. 19 and previous postdoctoral scientists Charles Pepe-Ranney and Wenbo Chen; and Jean-Marie Volland and Nathalie Elisabeth, both with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.