The aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria are a relatively recently discovered bacterial group. Although taxonomically and phylogenetically heterogeneous, these bacteria share the following distinguishing features: the presence of bacteriochlorophyll a incorporated into reaction center and light-harvesting complexes, low levels of the photosynthetic unit in cells, an abundance of carotenoids, a strong inhibition by light of bacteriochlorophyll synthesis, and the inability to grow photosynthetically under anaerobic conditions. Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria are classified in two marine (Erythrobacter and Roseobacter) and six freshwater (Acidiphilium, Erythromicrobium, Erythromonas, Porphyrobacter, Roseococcus, and Sandaracinobacter) genera, which phylogenetically belong to the α-1, α-3, and α-4 subclasses of the class Proteobacteria. Despite this phylogenetic information, the evolution and ancestry of their photosynthetic properties are unclear. We discuss several current proposals for the evolutionary origin of aerobic phototrophic bacteria. The closest phylogenetic relatives of aerobic phototrophic bacteria include facultatively anaerobic purple nonsulfur phototrophic bacteria. Since these two bacterial groups share many properties, yet have significant differences, we compare and contrast their physiology, with an emphasis on morphology and photosynthetic and other metabolic processes.

Aerobic Anoxygenic Phototrophic Bacteria

A 260-bp segment of the DNA that encodes 16S rRNA, corresponding to positions 44 to 337 in the Escherichia coli sequence, was amplified by the polymerase chain reaction and sequenced from each of 13 bacteria (rhizobia and purple phototrophs) in the alpha subdivision of the class Proteobacteria. The phylogenetic tree calculated from differences in the sequenced segment conforms well to our expectations based on other previously published data. The sequence from BTAi1 (a recently described phototrophic symbiont of the legume Aeschynomene) and that from the free-living phototroph Rhodopseudomonas palustris both fall within the range of variation found among strains of the soybean symbiont Bradyrhizobium japonicum. This suggests that it would be appropriate to include all of these organisms in a single genus.

Phylogeny of the phototrophic rhizobium strain BTAi1 by polymerase chain reaction-based sequencing of a 16S rRNA gene segment.

The aim of this study was to identifiy the endophytic bacteria recovered from the foliage, tap roots and nodules of red clover plants (Trifolium pratense L.); and to assess the effects of the nodule bacteria, alone and in combination with Rhizobium spp., on the growth and development of red clover seedlings. Thirty-one bacteria species from 14 different genera were recovered from within the foliage, roots and nodules of red clover plants cv. AC Charlie. Genera diversity and species number were greatest in foliage tissues. Pantoea agglomerans (59.6%) was the most frequent species recovered in foliage tissues, Agrobacterium rhizogenes A in the tap root (49.2%) and Rhizobium leguminosarum BV phaseoli and R. loti B in the nodules (27.2% each). Recovery of Rhizobium species was not restricted to the nodules, and species of this genus were systemic throughout the plant. Clover root nodules were host to 12 bacteria species other than rhizobia, of which 8 were specific to this tissue. Using non-selective media, R. leguminosarum BV trifolii constituted only 8.8% of all the root nodule bacteria recovered. In root bacterization experiments, species of nodule bacteria promoted growth of red clover more often when applied in combination with R. leguminosarum BV trifolii than when applied singly. However, Bacillus megaterium, Bordetella avium and Curtobacterium luteum consistently promoted growth either individually or in combination with R. leguminosarum BV trifolii. Nodulation was promoted when R. leguminosarum BV trifolii was coinoculated with Bacillus insolitus, B. brevis or A. rhizogenes A. Single isolate applications of Rhizobium species to roots always led to the depression of clover growth, but mixtures of R. leguminosarum BV trifolii and R. leguminosarum BV phaseoli resulted in growth promotion. The latter is considered further evidence of the beneficial allelopathic side effect of strain competition for the same ecological niche.

Biodiversity of endophytic bacteria which colonize red clover nodules, roots, stems and foliage and their influence on host growth

Bacteria in the phylum Acidobacteria are widely distributed and abundant in soils, but their ecological roles are poorly understood, owing in part to a paucity of cultured representatives. In a molecular survey of acidobacterial diversity at the Michigan State University Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research site, 27% of acidobacterial 16S rRNA gene clones in a never-tilled, successional plant community belonged to subdivision 1, whose relative abundance varied inversely with soil pH. Strains of subdivision 1 were isolated from these never-tilled soils using low-nutrient medium incubated for 3 to 4 weeks under elevated levels of carbon dioxide, which resulted in a slightly acidified medium that matched the pH optima of the strains (between 5 and 6). Colonies were approximately 1 mm in diameter and either white or pink, the latter due to a carotenoid(s) that was synthesized preferentially under 20% instead of 2% oxygen. Strains were gram-negative, aerobic, chemo-organotrophic, nonmotile rods that produced an extracellular matrix. All strains contained either one or two copies of the 16S rRNA encoding gene, which along with a relatively slow doubling time (10 to 15 h at ca. 23°C) is suggestive of an oligotrophic lifestyle. Six of the strains are sufficiently similar to one another, but distinct from previously named Acidobacteria, to warrant creation of a new genus, Terriglobus, with Terriglobus roseus defined as the type species. The physiological and nutritional characteristics of Terriglobus are consistent with its potential widespread distribution in soil.

Isolation and characterization of soil bacteria that define Terriglobus gen. nov., in the phylum Acidobacteria.

To identify biochemical markers for salt tolerance, two contrasting cultivars of rice (Oryza sativa L.) differing in salt tolerance were analyzed for various parameters. Pokkali, a salt-tolerant cultivar, showed considerably lower level of H(2)O(2) as compared to IR64, a sensitive cultivar, and such a physiology may be ascribed to the higher activity of enzymes in Pokkali, which either directly or indirectly are involved in the detoxification of H(2)O(2). Enzyme activities and the isoenzyme pattern of antioxidant enzymes also showed higher activity of different types and forms in Pokkali as compared to IR64, suggesting that Pokkali possesses a more efficient antioxidant defense system to cope up with salt-induced oxidative stress. Further, Pokkali exhibited a higher GSH/GSSG ratio along with a higher ratio of reduced ascorbate/oxidized ascorbate as compared to IR64 under NaCl stress. In addition, the activity of methylglyoxal detoxification system (glyoxalase I and II) was significantly higher in Pokkali as compared to IR64. As reduced glutathione is involved in the ascorbate-glutathione pathway as well as in the methylglyoxal detoxification pathway, it may be a point of interaction between these two. Our results suggest that both ascorbate and glutathione homeostasis, modulated also via glyoxalase enzymes, can be considered as biomarkers for salt tolerance in Pokkali rice. In addition, status of reactive oxygen species and oxidative DNA damage can serve as a quick and sensitive biomarker for screening against salt and other abiotic stresses in crop plants.

Redox homeostasis, antioxidant defense, and methylglyoxal detoxification as markers for salt tolerance in Pokkali rice

Rhizobium strain BTAi 1, which nodulates both stems and roots of Aeschynomene indica L., formed bacteriochlorophyll and photosynthetic reaction centers resembling those of purple photosynthetic bacteria when grown aerobically ex planta under a light-dark cycle. Bacteriochlorophyll formation was not observed under continuous dark or light growth conditions. The amount of pigment formed was similar to that previously found in aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. Stem nodules appear to fix nitrogen photosynthetically, as illumination of A. indica stem nodules with near-infrared light resulted in an enhanced rate of acetylene reduction. Near-infrared light did not enhance acetylene reduction when either A. indica or soybean root nodules were illuminated. The BTAi 1 isolate can be differentiated from members of the family Rhodospirillaceae by several criteria.

Gerald M. Alter

Papers

Bacteriochlorophyll and photosynthetic reaction centers in rhizobium strain btai 1