Location
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Student Union Ball Room
Start Date
6-8-2009 9:30 AM
End Date
6-8-2009 12:00 PM
Description
In the late 1990s, the limits of life were pushed even further when microorganisms were discovered thriving 2.5 km below the surface of the Earth in deep South African gold mines. These very simple communities were dominated by a single species of bacteria from within the phylum, Firmicutes. Desulforudis audaxviator remains unique to a sizeable portion of the South African deep subsurface. At depths below 2.5km, it comprises well over 99% of all organisms present, which presents a unique circumstance in which the environment has provided a natural pure culture. From this naturally occurring pure culture, environmental genomics was applied to obtain the complete D. audaxviatorgenome and thus it’s biological functions were established. This presents a unique opportunity to now attempt to grow a previously uncultured organism using its genome as a road map to design a specific cultivation approach for D. audaxviator. The genome combined with precise chemical analysis of its native environment has yielded invaluable insights such as the organism’s ability to form spores, to reduce sulfate, to fix nitrogen and use ammonia, along with many other unique traits all of which will lead to successful cultivation. Here we describe the genome-enabled cultivation of this to date uncultured microorganism.
Keywords
Desulforudis audaxviator; Genome-enabled cultures; Naturally pure cultures; Subterrean microorganisms
Disciplines
Bacteriology | Genomics
Language
English
Attempts to cultivate bacteria from deep subsurface aquifers and mountaintop plant communities
University of Nevada Las Vegas, Student Union Ball Room
In the late 1990s, the limits of life were pushed even further when microorganisms were discovered thriving 2.5 km below the surface of the Earth in deep South African gold mines. These very simple communities were dominated by a single species of bacteria from within the phylum, Firmicutes. Desulforudis audaxviator remains unique to a sizeable portion of the South African deep subsurface. At depths below 2.5km, it comprises well over 99% of all organisms present, which presents a unique circumstance in which the environment has provided a natural pure culture. From this naturally occurring pure culture, environmental genomics was applied to obtain the complete D. audaxviatorgenome and thus it’s biological functions were established. This presents a unique opportunity to now attempt to grow a previously uncultured organism using its genome as a road map to design a specific cultivation approach for D. audaxviator. The genome combined with precise chemical analysis of its native environment has yielded invaluable insights such as the organism’s ability to form spores, to reduce sulfate, to fix nitrogen and use ammonia, along with many other unique traits all of which will lead to successful cultivation. Here we describe the genome-enabled cultivation of this to date uncultured microorganism.
Comments
Abstract & poster