Methylophaga

Methylophaga
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Bacteria
Phylum: Pseudomonadota
Class: Gammaproteobacteria
Order: Thiotrichales
Family: Piscirickettsiaceae
Genus: Methylophaga
Janvier et al. 1985[1]
Type species
Methylophaga marina
Janvier et al. 1985
Species

M. alcalica
M. aminisulfidivorans
M. frappieri
M. lonarensis
M. marina
M. muralis
M. nitratireducenticrescens
M. sulfidovorans
M. thalassica
M. thiooxydans

The genus Methylophaga consists of halophilic methylotrophic members of the Gammaproteobacteria, all of which were isolated from marine or otherwise low water activity environments, such as the surface of marble or hypersaline lakes. The cells are rod-shaped.[2][3] and are motile by a single polar flagellum.[2][3] (with the possible exception of M. aminisulfidivorans which has been described as being non-motile)

When Methylophaga was defined originally as a genus in 1985,[1] all species known at that time were auxotrophic for vitamin B12, however, many species were found to be non-auxotrophic[3] and so this is no longer a defining characteristic. Methylophaga spp. are the dominant methylotrophs in the upper layers of the oceans, and have key roles in the biogeochemical cycling of methanol,[4] monomethylamine,[4] dimethylsulfide[5][6] and methyl bromide.[6]

All known species are methylotrophic and grow on methanol and usually other one-carbon compounds as well as fructose,[3] Methylophaga thiooxydans has been shown to grow on substituted thiophenes.[5][3] Chemolithoheterotrophy has been observed in both Methylophaga thiooxydans and Methylophaga sulfidovorans, at the expense of thiosulfate and sulfide, respectively [7][5] and may be a wider property in the genus as a whole.[3]

  1. ^ a b Janvier, Monique; Frehel, Claude; Grimont, Francine; Gasser, Francis (1985). "Methylophaga marina gen. nov., sp. nov. and Methylophaga thalassica sp. nov., Marine Methylotrophs". International Journal of Systematic Bacteriology. 35 (2): 131–139. doi:10.1099/00207713-35-2-131.
  2. ^ a b Garrity, George M. (2005). Bergey's manual of systematic bacteriology, Volume Two: The Proteobacteria, Part B: The Gammaproteobacteria. New York: Springer ISBN 0-387-24144-2.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Boden R (2012). "Emended description of the genus Methylophaga Janvier et al. 1985". International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. 62: 1644–1646. doi:10.1099/ijs.0.033639-0. PMID 21890722.
  4. ^ a b Neufeld JD, Schäfer H, Cox MJ, Boden R, McDonald IR, Murrell JC (2007). "Stable-isotope probing implicates Methylophaga spp. and novel Gammaproteobacteria in marine methanol and methylamine metabolism". ISME Journal. 1 (6): 480–491. doi:10.1038/ismej.2007.65. PMID 18043650.
  5. ^ a b c Boden R, Kelly DP, Murrell JC, Schäfer H (2010). "Oxidation of dimethylsulfide to tetrathionate by Methylophaga thiooxidans sp. nov.: a new link in the sulfur cycle". Environmental Microbiology. 12: 2688–2699. doi:10.1111/j.1462-2920.2010.02238.x. PMID 20482741.
  6. ^ a b Neufeld JD, Boden R, Moussard H, Schäfer H, Murrell JD (2008). "Substrate-Specific Clades of Active Marine Methylotrophs Associated with a Phytoplankton Bloom in a Temperate Coastal Environment" (PDF). Applied and Environmental Microbiology. 74 (23): 7321–7328. doi:10.1128/AEM.01266-08. PMC 2592898. PMID 18849453.
  7. ^ de Zwart JM, Nelisse PN, Kuenen JG (1996). "Isolation and characterization of Methylophaga sulfidovorans sp. nov.: an obligately methylotrophic, aerobic, dimethylsulfide oxidizing bacterium from a microbial mat". FEMS Microbiology Ecology. 20 (4): 261–270. doi:10.1111/j.1574-6941.1996.tb00324.x.