Photoheterotrophic bacteria harvest light energy using either proton-pumping rhodopsins or bacteriochlorophyll (BChl)-based photosystems. The bacterium Sphingomonas glacialis AAP5 isolated from the alpine lake Gossenköllesee contains genes for both systems. Here, we show that BChl is expressed between 4°C and 22°C in the dark, whereas xanthorhodopsin is expressed only at temperatures below 16°C and in the presence of light. Thus, cells grown at low temperatures under a natural light-dark cycle contain both BChl-based photosystems and xanthorhodopsins with a nostoxanthin antenna. Flash photolysis measurements proved that both systems are photochemically active. The captured light energy is used for ATP synthesis and stimulates growth. Thus, S. glacialis AAP5 represents a chlorophototrophic and a retinalophototrophic organism. Our analyses suggest that simple xanthorhodopsin may be preferred by the cells under higher light and low temperatures, whereas larger BChl-based photosystems may perform better at lower light intensities. This indicates that the use of two systems for light harvesting may represent an evolutionary adaptation to the specific environmental conditions found in alpine lakes and other analogous ecosystems, allowing bacteria to alternate their light-harvesting machinery in response to large seasonal changes of irradiance and temperature.

• Klíčová slova
• anoxygenic photosynthesis, bacteriochlorophyll a, dual phototrophy, light energy, xanthorhodopsin,
• MeSH
• Bacteria metabolismus   MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny metabolismus   MeSH
• bakteriochlorofyly * chemie   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fotosyntéza MeSH
• jezera * analýza   MeSH
• protonové pumpy MeSH
• protony MeSH
• světlosběrné proteinové komplexy metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• bakteriochlorofyly * MeSH
• protonové pumpy MeSH
• protony MeSH
• světlosběrné proteinové komplexy MeSH

Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs (AAPs) are bacteriochlorophyll a-containing microorganisms that use organic substrates for growth but can supplement their energy requirements with light. They have been reported from various marine and limnic environments; however, their ecology remains largely unknown. Here infrared epifluorescence microscopy was used to monitor temporal changes in AAPs in the alpine lake Gossenköllesee, located in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria. AAP abundance was low (10(3) cells ml(-1)) until mid-July and reached a maximum of ∼1.3 × 10(5) cells ml(-1) (29% of all prokaryotes) in mid-September. We compared the studied lake with other mountain lakes located across an altitudinal gradient (913 to 2,799 m above sea level). The concentration of dissolved organic carbon and water transparency seem to be the main factors influencing AAP abundance during the seasonal cycle as well as across the altitudinal gradient. While the AAP populations inhabiting the alpine lakes were composed of intensely pigmented large rods (5 to 12 μm), the lakes below the tree line were inhabited by a variety of smaller morphotypes. Analysis of pufM diversity revealed that AAPs in Gossenköllesee were almost exclusively Sphingomonadales species, which indicates that AAP communities inhabiting alpine lakes are relatively homogeneous compared to those in low-altitude lakes.

• MeSH
• Alphaproteobacteria genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• anaerobióza MeSH
• biodiverzita * MeSH
• chemické jevy MeSH
• DNA bakterií chemie   genetika   MeSH
• fototrofní procesy MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• molekulární sekvence - údaje MeSH
• organické látky analýza   MeSH
• roční období MeSH
• sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
• shluková analýza MeSH
• voda chemie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Rakousko MeSH
• Názvy látek
• DNA bakterií MeSH
• organické látky MeSH
• voda MeSH