Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are an important component of freshwater bacterioplankton. They can support their heterotrophic metabolism with energy from light, enhancing their growth efficiency. Based on results from cultures, it was hypothesized that photoheterotrophy provides an advantage under carbon limitation and facilitates access to recalcitrant or low-energy carbon sources. However, verification of these hypotheses for natural AAP communities has been lacking. Here, we conducted whole community manipulation experiments and compared the growth of AAP bacteria under carbon limited and with recalcitrant or low-energy carbon sources under dark and light (near-infrared light, λ > 800 nm) conditions to elucidate how they profit from photoheterotrophy. We found that AAP bacteria induce photoheterotrophic metabolism under carbon limitation, but they overcompete heterotrophic bacteria when carbon is available. This effect seems to be driven by physiological responses rather than changes at the community level. Interestingly, recalcitrant (lignin) or low-energy (acetate) carbon sources inhibited the growth of AAP bacteria, especially in light. This unexpected observation may have ecosystem-level consequences as lake browning continues. In general, our findings contribute to the understanding of the dynamics of AAP bacteria in pelagic environments.

• Klíčová slova
• acetate, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, carbon limitation, freshwater lakes, lignin, microbial ecology,
• MeSH
• aerobní bakterie metabolismus   růst a vývoj   MeSH
• Bacteria metabolismus   růst a vývoj   genetika   MeSH
• ekosystém MeSH
• fototrofní procesy * MeSH
• heterotrofní procesy MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• světlo MeSH
• uhlík * metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• Názvy látek
• uhlík * MeSH

BACKGROUND: Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs are metabolically highly active, diverse and widespread polyphyletic members of bacterioplankton whose photoheterotrophic capabilities shifted the paradigm about simplicity of the microbial food chain. Despite their considerable contribution to the transformation of organic matter in marine environments, relatively little is still known about their community structure and ecology at fine-scale taxonomic resolution. Up to date, there is no comprehensive (i.e. qualitative and quantitative) analysis of their community composition in the Adriatic Sea. RESULTS: Analysis was based on pufM gene metabarcoding and quantitative FISH-IR approach with the use of artificial neural network. Significant seasonality was observed with regards to absolute abundances (maximum average abundances in spring 2.136 ± 0.081 × 104 cells mL-1, minimum in summer 0.86 × 104 cells mL-1), FISH-IR groups (Roseobacter clade prevalent in autumn, other Alpha- and Gammaproteobacteria in summer) and pufM sequencing data agglomerated at genus-level. FISH-IR results revealed heterogeneity with the highest average relative contribution of AAPs assigned to Roseobacter clade (37.66%), followed by Gammaproteobacteria (35.25%) and general Alphaproteobacteria (31.15%). Community composition obtained via pufM sequencing was dominated by Gammaproteobacteria clade NOR5/OM60, specifically genus Luminiphilus, with numerous rare genera present in relative abundances below 1%. The use of artificial neural network connected this community to biotic (heterotrophic bacteria, HNA and LNA bacteria, Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus, picoeukaryotes, heterotrophic nanoflagellates, bacterial production) and abiotic environmental factors (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a and nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, total nitrogen, silicate, and orthophosphate concentration). A type of neural network, neural gas analysis at order-, genus- and ASV-level, resulted in five distinct best matching units (representing particular environments) and revealed that high diversity was generally independent of temperature, salinity, and trophic status of the environment, indicating a potentially dissimilar behaviour of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs compared to the general bacterioplankton. CONCLUSION: This research represents the first comprehensive analysis of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs in the Adriatic Sea on a trophic gradient during a year-round period. This study is also one of the first reports of their genus-level ecology linked to biotic and abiotic environmental factors revealed by unsupervised neural network algorithm, paving the way for further research of substantial contribution of this important bacterial functional group to marine ecosystems.

• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

BACKGROUND: Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria are heterotrophic bacteria that supply their metabolism with light energy harvested by bacteriochlorophyll-a-containing reaction centers. Despite their substantial contribution to bacterial biomass, microbial food webs, and carbon cycle, their phenology in freshwater lakes remains unknown. Hence, we investigated seasonal variations of AAP abundance and community composition biweekly across 3 years in a temperate, meso-oligotrophic freshwater lake. RESULTS: AAP bacteria displayed a clear seasonal trend with a spring maximum following the bloom of phytoplankton and a secondary maximum in autumn. As the AAP bacteria represent a highly diverse assemblage of species, we followed their seasonal succession using the amplicon sequencing of the pufM marker gene. To enhance the accuracy of the taxonomic assignment, we developed new pufM primers that generate longer amplicons and compiled the currently largest database of pufM genes, comprising 3633 reference sequences spanning all phyla known to contain AAP species. With this novel resource, we demonstrated that the majority of the species appeared during specific phases of the seasonal cycle, with less than 2% of AAP species detected during the whole year. AAP community presented an indigenous freshwater nature characterized by high resilience and heterogenic adaptations to varying conditions of the freshwater environment. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight the substantial contribution of AAP bacteria to the carbon flow and ecological dynamics of lakes and unveil a recurrent and dynamic seasonal succession of the AAP community. By integrating this information with the indicator of primary production (Chlorophyll-a) and existing ecological models, we show that AAP bacteria play a pivotal role in the recycling of dissolved organic matter released during spring phytoplankton bloom. We suggest a potential role of AAP bacteria within the context of the PEG model and their consideration in further ecological models.

• Klíčová slova
• pufM gene, Aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs, Aquatic microbial ecology, Freshwaters, Long-term sampling, Microbial seasonal succession, PEG model, Photoheterotrophs,
• MeSH
• aerobní bakterie genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Bacteria genetika   MeSH
• biomasa MeSH
• fototrofní procesy * MeSH
• fytoplankton genetika   MeSH
• jezera * mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic (AAP) bacteria represent a functional group of prokaryotic organisms that harvests light energy using bacteriochlorophyll-containing photosynthetic reaction centers. They represent an active and rapidly growing component of freshwater bacterioplankton, with the highest numbers observed usually in summer. Species diversity of freshwater AAP bacteria has been studied before in lakes, but its seasonal dynamics remain unknown. In this report, we analysed temporal changes in the composition of the phototrophic community in an oligo-mesotrophic freshwater lake using amplicon sequencing of the pufM marker gene. The AAP community was dominated by phototrophic Gammaproteobacteria and Alphaproteobacteria, with smaller contribution of phototrophic Chloroflexota and Gemmatimonadota. Phototrophic Eremiobacteriota or members of Myxococcota were not detected. Interestingly, some AAP taxa, such as Limnohabitans, Rhodoferax, Rhodobacterales or Rhizobiales, were permanently present over the sampling period, while others, such as Sphingomonadales, Rhodospirillales or Caulobacterales appeared only transiently. The environmental factors that best explain the seasonal changes in AAP community were temperature, concentrations of oxygen and dissolved organic matter.

• MeSH
• aerobní bakterie genetika   MeSH
• Alphaproteobacteria * genetika   MeSH
• fototrofní procesy MeSH
• Gammaproteobacteria * MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

Lakes are a significant component of the global carbon cycle. Respiration exceeds net primary production in most freshwater lakes, making them a source of CO2 to the atmosphere. Driven by heterotrophic microorganisms, respiration is assumed to be unaffected by light, thus it is measured in the dark. However, photoheterotrophs, such as aerobic anoxygenic photoheterotrophic (AAP) bacteria that produce ATP via photochemical reactions, substantially reduce respiration in the light. They are an abundant and active component of bacterioplankton, but their photoheterotrophic contribution to microbial community metabolism remains unquantified. We showed that the community respiration rate in a freshwater lake was reduced by 15.2% (95% confidence interval (CI): 6.6-23.8%) in infrared light that is usable by AAP bacteria but not by primary producers. Moreover, significantly higher assimilation rates of glucose (18.1%; 7.8-28.4%), pyruvate (9.5%; 4.2-14.8%), and leucine (5.9%; 0.1-11.6%) were measured in infrared light. At the ecosystem scale, the amount of CO2 from respiration unbalanced by net primary production was by 3.69 × 109 g CO2 lower over these two sampling seasons when measured in the infrared light. Our results demonstrate that dark measurements of microbial activity significantly bias the carbon fluxes, providing a new paradigm for their quantification in aquatic environments.

• MeSH
• aerobní bakterie metabolismus   MeSH
• jezera * mikrobiologie   MeSH
• koloběh uhlíku MeSH
• mikrobiota * MeSH
• oxid uhličitý metabolismus   MeSH
• uhlík metabolismus   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Názvy látek
• oxid uhličitý MeSH
• uhlík MeSH

Marine bacterioplankton represent a diverse assembly of species differing largely in their abundance, physiology, metabolic activity, and role in microbial food webs. To analyze their sensitivity to bottom-up and top-down controls, we performed a manipulation experiment where grazers were removed, with or without the addition of phosphate. Using amplicon-reads normalization by internal standard (ARNIS), we reconstructed growth curves for almost 300 individual phylotypes. Grazer removal caused a rapid growth of most bacterial groups, which grew at rates of 0.6 to 3.5 day-1, with the highest rates (>4 day-1) recorded among Rhodobacteraceae, Oceanospirillales, Alteromonadaceae, and Arcobacteraceae. Based on their growth response, the phylotypes were divided into three basic groups. Most of the phylotypes responded positively to both grazer removal as well as phosphate addition. The second group (containing, e.g., Rhodobacterales and Rhizobiales) responded to the grazer removal but not to the phosphate addition. Finally, some clades, such as SAR11 and Flavobacteriaceae, responded only to phosphate amendment but not to grazer removal. Our results show large differences in bacterial responses to experimental manipulations at the phylotype level and document different life strategies of marine bacterioplankton. In addition, growth curves of 130 phylogroups of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs were reconstructed based on changes of the functional pufM gene. The use of functional genes together with rRNA genes may significantly expand the scientific potential of the ARNIS technique. IMPORTANCE Growth is one of the main manifestations of life. It is assumed generally that bacterial growth is constrained mostly by nutrient availability (bottom-up control) and grazing (top-down control). Since marine bacteria represent a very diverse assembly of species with different metabolic properties, their growth characteristics also largely differ accordingly. Currently, the growth of marine microorganisms is typically evaluated using microscopy in combination with fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). However, these laborious techniques are limited in their throughput and taxonomical resolution. Therefore, we combined a classical manipulation experiment with next-generation sequencing to resolve the growth dynamics of almost 300 bacterial phylogroups in the coastal Adriatic Sea. The analysis documented that most of the phylogroups responded positively to both grazer removal and phosphate addition. We observed significant differences in growth kinetics among closely related species, which could not be distinguished by the classical FISH technique.

• Klíčová slova
• aerobic anoxygenic phototrophs, amplicon sequencing, bacterioplankton, grazing, growth curves, growth rate, manipulation experiment, phosphorus limitation, top-down control,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Photoheterotrophic bacteria represent an important part of aquatic microbial communities. There exist two fundamentally different light-harvesting systems: bacteriochlorophyll-containing reaction centers or rhodopsins. Here, we report a photoheterotrophic Sphingomonas strain isolated from an oligotrophic lake, which contains complete sets of genes for both rhodopsin-based and bacteriochlorophyll-based phototrophy. Interestingly, the identified genes were not expressed when cultured in liquid organic media. Using reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), RNA sequencing, and bacteriochlorophyll a quantification, we document that bacteriochlorophyll synthesis was repressed by high concentrations of glucose or galactose in the medium. Coactivation of photosynthesis genes together with genes for TonB-dependent transporters suggests the utilization of light energy for nutrient import. The photosynthetic units were formed by ring-shaped light-harvesting complex 1 and reaction centers with bacteriochlorophyll a and spirilloxanthin as the main light-harvesting pigments. The identified rhodopsin gene belonged to the xanthorhodopsin family, but it lacks salinixanthin antenna. In contrast to bacteriochlorophyll, the expression of xanthorhodopsin remained minimal under all experimental conditions tested. Since the gene was found in the same operon as a histidine kinase, we propose that it might serve as a light sensor. Our results document that photoheterotrophic Sphingomonas bacteria use the energy of light under carbon-limited conditions, while under carbon-replete conditions, they cover all their metabolic needs through oxidative phosphorylation.IMPORTANCE Phototrophic organisms are key components of many natural environments. There exist two main phototrophic groups: species that collect light energy using various kinds of (bacterio)chlorophylls and species that utilize rhodopsins. Here, we present a freshwater bacterium Sphingomonas sp. strain AAP5 which contains genes for both light-harvesting systems. We show that bacteriochlorophyll-based reaction centers are repressed by light and/or glucose. On the other hand, the rhodopsin gene was not expressed significantly under any of the experimental conditions. This may indicate that rhodopsin in Sphingomonas may have other functions not linked to bioenergetics.

• Klíčová slova
• Sphingomonadaceae, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, bacteriochlorophyll a, gene expression, photosynthesis gene cluster, rhodopsin,
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH

Phytoplankton is a key component of aquatic microbial communities, and metabolic coupling between phytoplankton and bacteria determines the fate of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Yet, the impact of primary production on bacterial activity and community composition remains largely unknown, as, for example, in the case of aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic (AAP) bacteria that utilize both phytoplankton-derived DOC and light as energy sources. Here, we studied how reduction of primary production in a natural freshwater community affects the bacterial community composition and its activity, focusing primarily on AAP bacteria. The bacterial respiration rate was the lowest when photosynthesis was reduced by direct inhibition of photosystem II and the highest in ambient light condition with no photosynthesis inhibition, suggesting that it was limited by carbon availability. However, bacterial assimilation rates of leucine and glucose were unaffected, indicating that increased bacterial growth efficiency (e.g., due to photoheterotrophy) can help to maintain overall bacterial production when low primary production limits DOC availability. Bacterial community composition was tightly linked to light intensity, mainly due to the increased relative abundance of light-dependent AAP bacteria. This notion shows that changes in bacterial community composition are not necessarily reflected by changes in bacterial production or growth and vice versa. Moreover, we demonstrated for the first time that light can directly affect bacterial community composition, a topic which has been neglected in studies of phytoplankton-bacteria interactions.IMPORTANCE Metabolic coupling between phytoplankton and bacteria determines the fate of dissolved organic carbon in aquatic environments, and yet how changes in the rate of primary production affect the bacterial activity and community composition remains understudied. Here, we experimentally limited the rate of primary production either by lowering light intensity or by adding a photosynthesis inhibitor. The induced decrease had a greater influence on bacterial respiration than on bacterial production and growth rate, especially at an optimal light intensity. This suggests that changes in primary production drive bacterial activity, but the effect on carbon flow may be mitigated by increased bacterial growth efficiencies, especially of light-dependent AAP bacteria. Bacterial activities were independent of changes in bacterial community composition, which were driven by light availability and AAP bacteria. This direct effect of light on composition of bacterial communities has not been documented previously.

• Klíčová slova
• AAP community composition, aerobic anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria, bacterial community composition, phytoplankton-bacteria coupling,
• MeSH
• aerobní bakterie růst a vývoj   metabolismus   MeSH
• ekosystém * MeSH
• fotosyntéza MeSH
• fototrofní procesy * MeSH
• fyziologie bakterií MeSH
• mikrobiota * MeSH
• mořská voda mikrobiologie   MeSH
• sladká voda mikrobiologie   MeSH
• světlo MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH

The anoxygenic phototrophic bacteria (APB) are an active component of aquatic microbial communities. While DNA-based studies have delivered a detailed picture of APB diversity, they cannot provide any information on the activity of individual species. Therefore, we focused on the expression of a photosynthetic gene by APB communities in two freshwater lakes (Cep lake and the Římov Reservoir) in the Czech Republic. First, we analyzed expression levels of pufM during the diel cycle using RT-qPCR. The transcription underwent a strong diel cycle and was inhibited during the day in both lakes. Then, we compared DNA- (total) and RNA-based (active) community composition by sequencing pufM amplicon libraries. We observed large differences in expression activity among different APB phylogroups. While the total APB community in the Římov Reservoir was dominated by Betaproteobacteria, Alphaproteobacteria prevailed in the active library. A different situation was encountered in the oligotrophic lake Cep where Betaproteobacteria (order Burkholderiales) dominated both the DNA and RNA libraries. Interestingly, in Cep lake we found smaller amounts of highly active uncultured phototrophic Chloroflexi, as well as phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes. Despite the large diversity of APB communities, light repression of pufM expression seems to be a common feature of all aerobic APB present in the studied lakes.

• MeSH
• Alphaproteobacteria izolace a purifikace   fyziologie   účinky záření   MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• Betaproteobacteria izolace a purifikace   fyziologie   účinky záření   MeSH
• DNA bakterií genetika   izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• fotoperioda * MeSH
• fotosyntetické reakční centrum - proteinové komplexy genetika   metabolismus   MeSH
• fototrofní procesy genetika   účinky záření   MeSH
• fylogeneze MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• mikrobiota fyziologie   účinky záření   MeSH
• regulace genové exprese u bakterií fyziologie   účinky záření   MeSH
• světlo škodlivé účinky   MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika MeSH
• Názvy látek
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• DNA bakterií MeSH
• fotosyntetické reakční centrum - proteinové komplexy MeSH
• PufM protein, Bacteria MeSH Prohlížeč

UNLABELLED: Anoxygenic phototrophs represent an environmentally important and phylogenetically diverse group of organisms. They harvest light using bacteriochlorophyll-containing reaction centers. Recently, a novel phototrophic bacterium, Gemmatimonas phototrophica, belonging to a rarely studied phylum, Gemmatimonadetes, was isolated from a freshwater lake in the Gobi Desert. To obtain more information about the environmental distribution of phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes, we collected microbial samples from the water column, upper sediment, and deeper anoxic sediment of Lake Taihu, China. MiSeq sequencing of the 16S rRNA, pufM, and bchY genes was carried out to assess the diversity of local phototrophic communities. In addition, we designed new degenerate primers of aerobic cyclase gene acsF, which serves as a convenient marker for both phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes and phototrophic Proteobacteria Our results showed that most of the phototrophic species in Lake Taihu belong to Alpha- and Betaproteobacteria Sequences of green sulfur and green nonsulfur bacteria (phototrophic Chlorobi and Chloroflexi, respectively) were found in the sediment. Using the newly designed primers, we identified a diverse community of phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes forming 30 operational taxonomic units. These species represented 10.5 and 17.3% of the acsF reads in the upper semiaerobic sediment and anoxic sediment, whereas their abundance in the water column was <1%. IMPORTANCE: Photosynthesis is one of the most fundamental biological processes on Earth. Recently, the presence of photosynthetic reaction centers has been reported from a rarely studied bacterial phylum, Gemmatimonadetes, but almost nothing is known about the diversity and environmental distribution of these organisms. The newly designed acsF primers were used to identify phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes from planktonic and sediment samples collected in Lake Taihu, China. The Gemmatimonadetes sequences were found mostly in the upper sediments, documenting the preference of Gemmatimonadetes for semiaerobic conditions. Our results also show that the phototrophic Gemmatimonadetes present in Lake Taihu were relatively diverse, encompassing 30 operational taxonomic units.

• MeSH
• Bacteria klasifikace   enzymologie   genetika   MeSH
• bakteriální proteiny genetika   MeSH
• DNA bakterií chemie   genetika   MeSH
• DNA primery MeSH
• geologické sedimenty mikrobiologie   MeSH
• jezera mikrobiologie   MeSH
• polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• ribozomální DNA chemie   genetika   MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S genetika   MeSH
• sekvenční analýza DNA MeSH
• společenstvo * MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Čína MeSH
• Názvy látek
• bakteriální proteiny MeSH
• DNA bakterií MeSH
• DNA primery MeSH
• ribozomální DNA MeSH
• RNA ribozomální 16S MeSH