Formulation of biogenic fluorescent pigmented PHB nanoparticles from Rhodanobacter sp. for drug delivery.

Biogenic nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as promising therapeutic formulations in effective drug delivery. Despite of various positive attributes, these NPs are often conjugated with various cytotoxic organic fluorophores for bioimaging, thereby reducing its effectiveness as a potential carrier. Herein, we aim to formulate biogenic fluorescent pigmented polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) NPs from Rhodanobacter sp. strain KT31 (OK001852) for drug delivery. The bacterial strain produced 0.5 g L-1 of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) from 2.04 g L-1 of dry cell weight (DCW) under optimised conditions via submerged fermentation. Further, structural, thermal, and morphological charactersiation of the extracted PHAs was conducted using advance analytical technologies. IR spectra at 1719.25 cm-1 confirmed presence of C = O functional group PHB. NMR and XRD analysis validated the chemical structure and crystallinity of PHB. TG-DTA revealed Tm (168 °C), Td (292 °C), and Xc (35%) of the PHB. FE-SEM imaging indicated rough surface of the PHB film and the biodegradability was confirmed from open windro composting. WST1 assay showed no significant cell death (> 50%) from 100 to 500 µg/mL, endorsing non-cytotoxic nature of PHB. PHB NPs were uniform, smooth and spherical with size distribution and mean zeta potential 44.73 nm and 0.5 mV. IR and XRD peaks obtained at 1721.75 cm-1 and 48.42 Å denoted C = O and crystalline nature of PHB. Cell proliferation rate of PHB NPs was quite significant at 50 µg/mL, establishing the non-cytotoxic nature of NPs. Further, in vitro efficacy of the PHB NPs needs to be evaluated prior to the biomedical applications.

Purple non-sulfur bacteria technology: a promising and potential approach for wastewater treatment and bioresources recovery.

Shortage of water, energy, and bioresources in the world has led to the exploration of new technologies that achieve resource recovery from wastewater, which has become a new sustainable trend. Photosynthetic non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB), the most ancient photo microorganism, not only treats different wastewater types, but also generates PNSB cells, which are non-toxic bioresources and containing many value-added products. These bioresources can be used as raw materials in the agricultural, food, and medical industries. Therefore, PNSB or PNSB-based wastewater resource recovery technology can be simultaneously used to treat wastewater and produce useful bioresources. Compared with traditional wastewater treatment, this technology can reduce CO2 emissions, promote the N recovery ratio and prevent residual sludge disposal or generation. After being developed for over half a century, PNSB wastewater resource recovery technology is currently extended towards industrial applications. Here, this technology is comprehensively introduced in terms of (1) PNSB characteristics and metabolism; (2) PNSB wastewater treatment and bioresource recovery efficiency; (3) the relative factors influencing the performance of this technology, including light, oxygen, strains, wastewater types, hydraulic retention time, on wastewater treatment, and resource production; (4) PNSB value-added bioresources and their generation from wastewater; (5) the scale-up history of PNSB technology; (6) Finally, the future perspectives and challenges of this technology were also analysed and summarised.

In-situ fermentation with gellan gum adding to produce bacterial cellulose from traditional Chinese medicinal herb residues hydrolysate.

In this study, bacterial cellulose was synthesized by Taonella mepensis from traditional Chinese medicinal herb residues hydrolysate. To overcome the inhibitory effect of fermentation environment, in-situ fermentation with gellan gum adding was carried out for the first time. After 10 days' static fermentation, both high-acyl gellan gum and low-acyl gellan gum adding showed certain beneficial effects for bacterial cellulose production that the highest bacterial cellulose yield (0.866 and 0.798 g/L, respectively) was 59% and 47% higher than that (0.543 g/L) without gellan gum adding. Besides, gellan gum based bacterial cellulose showed some better texture characteristics. Gellan gum was loaded in the nano network of bacterial cellulose, and gellan gum adding had some influence on the crystal structure and thermal degradation behaviors of bacterial cellulose but affected little on its functional groups. Overall, this in-situ fermentation technology is attractive for bacterial cellulose production from low-cost but inhibitory substrates.

High-Yielding Terpene-Based Biofuel Production in Rhodobacter capsulatus.

Energy crisis and global climate change have driven an increased effort toward biofuel synthesis from renewable feedstocks. Herein, purple nonsulfur photosynthetic bacterium (PNSB) of Rhodobacter capsulatus was explored as a platform for high-titer production of a terpene-based advanced biofuel-bisabolene. A multilevel engineering strategy such as promoter screening, improving the NADPH availability, strengthening the precursor supply, suppressing the side pathways, and introducing a heterologous mevalonate pathway, was used to improve the bisabolene titer in R. capsulatus. The above strategies enabled a 35-fold higher titer of bisabolene than that of the starting strain, reaching 1089.7 mg/L from glucose in a shake flask. The engineered strain produced 9.8 g/L bisabolene with a yield of >0.196 g/g-glucose under the two-phase fed-batch fermentation, which corresponds to >78% of theoretical maximum. Taken together, our work represents one of the pioneering studies to demonstrate PNSB as a promising platform for terpene-based advanced biofuel production.

Bacterial cellulose production from terylene ammonia hydrolysate by Taonella mepensis WT-6.

Hydrothermal degradation was used to pretreat terylene with an aim of noticeably improving the yield of fermentable monomers: terephthalic acid (TPA), mono (2- hydroxyethyl) terephthalic acid (MHET), bis-hydroxyethyl terephthalate (BHET), and ethylene glycol (EG). After 0.5 h of reaction time at 180 °C, hydrothermal degradation with ammonia led to almost complete conversion of the terylene to TPA, MHET, BHET and EG, which were then transformed by Taonella mepensis WT-6 to bacterial cellulose (BC). Furthermore, the optimum fermentation conditions with the maximum BC yield were 5.0 g/L yeast extract, 30.0 °C, pH 9.0, 8.0% inoculum, and hydrolysate TOC (5.02 g/L). Additionally, mechanical and thermal analysis revealed that the properties of BC produced from TAH medium were similar to those of BC produced with HS medium. Considering the substantial amount of global terylene waste being produced, this study provides an alternative solution for the biosynthesis of BC.

In situ formation of photoactive B-ring reduced chlorophyll isomer in photosynthetic protein LH2.

Natural chlorophylls have a D-ring reduced chlorin π-system; however, no naturally occurring photosynthetically active B-ring reduced chlorins have been reported. Here we report a B-ring reduced chlorin, 17,18-didehydro-bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a, produced by in situ oxidation of B800 bacteriochlorophyll (BChl) a in a light-harvesting protein LH2 from a purple photosynthetic bacterium Phaeospirillum molischianum. The regioselective oxidation of the B-ring of B800 BChl a is rationalized by its molecular orientation in the protein matrix. The formation of 17,18-didehydro-BChl a produced no change in the local structures and circular arrangement of the LH2 protein. The B-ring reduced 17,18-didehydro-BChl a functions as an energy donor in the LH2 protein. The photoactive B-ring reduced Chl isomer in LH2 will be helpful for understanding the photofunction and evolution of photosynthetic cyclic tetrapyrrole pigments.

Production of polyhydroxybutyrate by pure and mixed cultures of purple non-sulfur bacteria: A review.

Purple non-sulfur bacteria (PNSB), most commonly called photobacteria, are a group of photoheterotrophic bacteria well known for their ability to produce hydrogen while degrading several carbon substrates, such as organic acids and carbohydrates, as well as organic matter in wastewater and effluents from other processes, such as dark fermentation. Given that this group of photobacteria is also capable of accumulating polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) as a storage compound, this review paper aims to present and discuss the different operational and nutritional conditions reported in the literature that favor PHB production by PNSB in order to guide the process conditions that should be used. A comparison of the accumulated PHB content among different PNSB strains on several carbon and nitrogen sources and concentrations is also outlined. This paper also addresses some future perspectives for PHB production, such as the use of wastewater as a substrate and mixed cultures to reduce economic costs and the environmental impact and make the PHB production process more profitable, sustainable and attractive.

Two plant-hosted whole-cell bacterial biosensors for detection of bioavailable Cr(VI).

Metal whole-cell biosensors (WCBs) have been reported as very useful tools to detect and quantify the presence of bioavailable fractions of certain metals in water and soil samples. In the current work, two bacterial WCBs able to report Cr(VI) presence and plants growing on Cr(VI)-enriched soil/medium were used to assess the potential transfer of this metal to organisms of higher trophic levels, and the risk of transfer to the food chain. To do it, the functionality of the WCBs within tissues of inoculated plants in contact with Cr(VI)-contaminated soil and water was studied in vitro and in a controlled greenhouse environment. One WCB was the previously described Ochrobactrum tritici pCHRGFP2 and the second, Nitrospirillum amazonense pCHRGFP2, is a newly engineered naturally-occurring endophytic microorganism. Three rice varieties (IAC 4440, BRS 6 CHUÍ, IRGA 425) and one maize variety (1060) were tested as hosts and subjected to Cr(VI) treatments (25 µM), with different results obtained. Inoculation of each WCB into plants exposed to Cr(VI) showed GFP expression within plant tissues. WCBs penetrated the root tissues and later colonized the shoots and leaves. In general, a higher fluorescence signal was detected in roots, together with a higher Cr content and denser WCB colonization. Best fluorescence intensities per plant biomass of shoots were obtained for plant host IRGA 425. Therefore, by analyzing colonized tissues, both WCBs allowed the detection of Cr(VI) contamination in soils and its transfer to plants commonly used in crops for human diet.

Arsenic respiration and detoxification by purple non-sulphur bacteria under anaerobic conditions.

Two arsenic-resistant purple non-sulphur bacteria (PNSB), Q3B and Q3C, were isolated (from industrial contaminated site and paddy fields) and identified by SSU rRNA gene sequencing as Rhodospirillum and Rhodospirillaceae species, respectively. Maximum arsenic reduction by these PNSB was observed in anaerobic conditions. Rhodospirillum sp. Q3B showed 74.92% (v/v) arsenic reduction while Rhodospirillaceae sp. Q3C reduced arsenic up to 76.67% (v/v) in anaerobic conditions. Rhodospirillaceae sp. Q3C was found to contain highest carotenoid content up to 5.6mg·g-1. Under anaerobic conditions, the isolates were able to respire arsenic in the presence of lactate, citrate, and oxalate. Rhodospirillum sp. Q3B and Rhodospirillaceae sp. Q3C were also found to produce hydrogen gas. Such diverse bacteria can be useful tools for bioremediation purposes. These bacteria can be further exploited and optimized to treat wastewater containing arsenic along with bio-hydrogen production.

Genomic insights into the metabolism of 'Candidatus Defluviicoccus seviourii', a member of Defluviicoccus cluster III abundant in industrial activated sludge.

Filamentous cluster III Defluviicoccus (DF3) are known to proliferate and cause bulking issues in industrial wastewater treatment plants. Members of the genus Defluviicoccus are also known to exhibit the glycogen accumulating organism (GAO) phenotype, which is suggested to be detrimental to enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR). Despite the reported negative impact members of the DF3 have on activated sludge wastewater treatment systems, limited research has focused on understanding the physiological traits that allow them to compete in these environments. In this study, a near complete genome of an abundant filamentous DF3 named 'Candidatus Defluviicoccus seviourii' was obtained from a full-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) treating winery wastewater. Annotation of the 'Ca. D. seviourii' genome revealed interesting metabolic features that help to understand the abundance of this microorganism in industrial wastewater treatment plants. Their potential for the storage of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) is suggested to favour these organisms with the intermittent availability of carbon in these systems. An ability to fix nitrogen and take up urea may provide them with an additional advantage with the characteristically high carbon to nitrogen content of industrial waste. The genome and preliminary findings of this study provide a foundation for further research into these biotechnologically relevant organisms.

Restricted Localization of Photosynthetic Intracytoplasmic Membranes (ICMs) in Multiple Genera of Purple Nonsulfur Bacteria.

In bacteria and eukaryotes alike, proper cellular physiology relies on robust subcellular organization. For the phototrophic purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB), this organization entails the use of a light-harvesting, membrane-bound compartment known as the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM). Here we show that ICMs are spatially and temporally localized in diverse patterns among PNSB. We visualized ICMs in live cells of 14 PNSB species across nine genera by exploiting the natural autofluorescence of the photosynthetic pigment bacteriochlorophyll (BChl). We then quantitatively characterized ICM localization using automated computational analysis of BChl fluorescence patterns within single cells across the population. We revealed that while many PNSB elaborate ICMs along the entirety of the cell, species across as least two genera restrict ICMs to discrete, nonrandom sites near cell poles in a manner coordinated with cell growth and division. Phylogenetic and phenotypic comparisons established that ICM localization and ICM architecture are not strictly interdependent and that neither trait fully correlates with the evolutionary relatedness of the species. The natural diversity of ICM localization revealed herein has implications for both the evolution of phototrophic organisms and their light-harvesting compartments and the mechanisms underpinning spatial organization of bacterial compartments.IMPORTANCE Many bacteria organize their cellular space by constructing subcellular compartments that are arranged in specific, physiologically relevant patterns. The purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) utilize a membrane-bound compartment known as the intracytoplasmic membrane (ICM) to harvest light for photosynthesis. It was previously unknown whether ICM localization within cells is systematic or irregular and if ICM localization is conserved among PNSB. Here we surveyed ICM localization in diverse PNSB and show that ICMs are spatially organized in species-specific patterns. Most strikingly, several PNSB resolutely restrict ICMs to regions near the cell poles, leaving much of the cell devoid of light-harvesting machinery. Our results demonstrate that bacteria of a common lifestyle utilize unequal portions of their intracellular space to harvest light, despite light harvesting being a process that is intuitively influenced by surface area. Our findings therefore raise fundamental questions about ICM biology and evolution.

Metagenomic binning reveals versatile nutrient cycling and distinct adaptive features in alphaproteobacterial symbionts of marine sponges.

Marine sponges are early-branched metazoans known to harbor dense and diverse microbial communities. Yet the role of the so far uncultivable alphaproteobacterial lineages that populate these sessile invertebrates remains unclear. We applied a sequence composition-dependent binning approach to assemble one Rhodospirillaceae genome from the Spongia officinalis microbial metagenome and contrast its functional features with those of closely related sponge-associated and free-living genomes. Both symbiotic and free-living Rhodospirillaceae shared a suite of common features, possessing versatile carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorus metabolisms. Symbiotic genomes could be distinguished from their free-living counterparts by the lack of chemotaxis and motility traits, enrichment of genes required for the uptake and utilization of organic sulfur compounds-particularly taurine-, higher diversity and abundance of ABC transporters, and a distinct repertoire of genes involved in natural product biosynthesis, plasmid stability, cell detoxification and oxidative stress remediation. These sessile symbionts may more effectively contribute to host fitness via nutrient exchange, and also host detoxification and chemical defense. Considering the worldwide occurrence and high diversity of sponge-associated Rhodospirillaceae verified here using a tailored in silico approach, we suggest that these organisms are not only relevant to holobiont homeostasis but also to nutrient cycling in benthic ecosystems.

Decolorization of Reactive Red 159 by a consortium of photosynthetic bacteria using an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor (AnSBR).

This experiment aimed to decolorize Reactive Red 159 using a high potential of a consortium of purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) with an application of response surface methodology through a central composite design in open system. The three factors of hydraulic retention time (HRT), sludge retention time (SRT) and dye concentration were applied to the design. The decolorization was operated in an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor until the system reached to a pseudosteady state for 30 cycles in each experiment. The optimal condition was 6,500 mg/L of Reactive Red 159 concentration with 20 days of SRT and 8 days of HRT, achieving dye effluent of 142.62 ± 5.35 mg/L, decolorization rate of 264.54 ± 7.13 mg/L/h and decolorization efficiency of 97.68 ± 0.74%. The results revealed that PNSB efficiently decolorized the high concentration of Reactive Red 159 and they were a high potential of microorganisms for dyes contaminated wastewater treatment.

Managing the excessive proliferation of glycogen accumulating organisms in industrial activated sludge by nitrogen supplementation: A FISH-NanoSIMS approach.

Defluviicoccus vanus-related glycogen accumulating organisms (GAO) regularly proliferate in industrial wastewater treatment plants handling high carbon but nitrogen deficient wastes. When GAO dominate, they are associated with poor performance, characterised by slow settling biomass and turbid effluents. Although their ecophysiology has been studied thoroughly in domestic waste treatment plants, little attention has been paid to them in aerobic industrial systems. In this study, the effect of nitrogen addition on GAO carbon metabolism was investigated during an 8h cycle. Activated sludge dominated by GAO from a winery wastewater sequencing batch reactor was incubated under different carbon to nitrogen (COD:N) ratios (100:1, 60:1 and 20:1) using 13C - acetate and 15N - urea. GAO cell assimilation was quantified using FISH-NanoSIMS. The activated sludge community was assessed by 16S rRNA gene profiling, DNA and storage polymer production. Carbon and nitrogen quantification at the cellular level by NanoSIMS revealed that low (COD:N of 100:1) or null nitrogen concentrations enhanced GAO carbon uptake. COD:N ratios of 60:1 and 20:1 reduced GAO carbon uptake and promoted whole microbial community DNA production. Nitrogen dosing at COD:N ratios of 60:1 or higher was demonstrated as feasible strategy for controlling the excessive GAO growth in high COD waste treatment plants.

Enhanced crude oil biodegradative potential of natural phytoplankton-associated hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria.

Phytoplankton have been shown to harbour a diversity of hydrocarbonoclastic bacteria (HCB), yet it is not understood how these phytoplankton-associated HCB would respond in the event of an oil spill at sea. Here, we assess the diversity and dynamics of the bacterial community associated with a natural population of marine phytoplankton under oil spill-simulated conditions, and compare it to that of the free-living (non phytoplankton-associated) bacterial community. While the crude oil severely impacted the phytoplankton population and was likely conducive to marine oil snow formation, analysis of the MiSeq-derived 16S rRNA data revealed dramatic and differential shifts in the oil-amended communities that included blooms of recognized HCB (e.g., Thalassospira, Cycloclasticus), including putative novel phyla, as well as other groups with previously unqualified oil-degrading potential (Olleya, Winogradskyella, and members of the inconspicuous BD7-3 phylum). Notably, the oil biodegradation potential of the phytoplankton-associated community exceeded that of the free-living community, and it showed a preference to degrade substituted and non-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Our study provides evidence of compartmentalization of hydrocarbon-degrading capacity in the marine water column, wherein HCB associated with phytoplankton are better tuned to degrading crude oil hydrocarbons than that by the community of planktonic free-living bacteria.

Arsenic resistance genes of As-resistant purple nonsulfur bacteria isolated from As-contaminated sites for bioremediation application.

This study aimed to identify arsenic resistant mechanisms in As-resistant purple nonsulfur bacteria (PNSB) by screening them for presence of As-resistance genes and related enzymes. Resistance to As(III) and As(V) of four As-resistant PNSB determined in terms of median inhibition concentration (IC50 values) were in the order of strains Rhodopseudomonas palustris C1 > R. palustris AB3 > Rubrivivax benzoatilyticus C31 > R. palustris L28 which corresponded to the presence of As-resistance genes in these bacteria. The strain C1 showed all As-marker genes; arsC, arsM, aioA, and acr3, while aioA was not detected in strain AB3. Strains C31 and L28 had only Arsenite-transporter gene, acr3. Translation of all these detected gene sequences of strain C1 to amino acid sequences showed that these proteins have vicinal cysteine; Cys126, Cys105, and Cys178 of Acr3, ArsC, AioA, respectively. Tertiary structure of proteins Acr3, ArsC, AioA, and ArsM showed strain C1 exhibits the high activities of arsenite oxidase and arsenate reductase enzymes that are encoded by aioA and arsC genes, respectively. Moreover, strain C1 with arsM gene produced volatile-methylated As-compounds; monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), dimethylarsenic acid (DMA), and arsenobetaine (AsB) in the presence of either As(III) or As(V). In conclusion, the strain C1 has great potential for its application in bioremediation of As-contaminated sites.

Thalassospira australica sp. nov. isolated from sea water.

Two Gram-negative, non-pigmented, motile bacteria were isolated from a sea water sample collected at St. Kilda Beach, Port Philip Bay, Victoria, Australia. The two strains were found to grow between 4 and 40 °C, pH 5-10 and tolerate up to 10 % NaCl. A phylogenetic study, based on a 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis indicated that strains NP 3b2(T) and H 94 belong to the genus Thalassospira. The sequence similarity of the 16S rRNA gene between the two new isolates is 99.8 % and between these strains and all validly named Thalassospira species was found to be in the range of 95-99.4 %. The DNA-DNA relatedness between the two strains was found to be 80.2 %, while relatedness with other validly named species of the genus Thalassospira was between 53 and 65 %. The average nucleotide identity (ANI) and the in silico genome-to-genome distance (GGD) between the two bacteria and T. profundimaris WP0211(T), T. xiamenensis M-5(T), 'T. permensis' NBRC 106175(T) and T. lucentensis QMT2(T) was 76-82 % and 21-25 %, respectively. The results of phylogenetic and genomic analysis, together with physiological and biochemical properties, indicated that the two strains represent a new species of the genus Thalassospira. Based on these data, a new species, Thalassospira australica, is proposed with strain NP 3b2(T) (=KMM 6365(T) = JCM 31222(T)) as the type strain.

Effect of an azo dye on the performance of an aerobic granular sludge sequencing batch reactor treating a simulated textile wastewater.

This study analyzed the effect of an azo dye (Acid Red 14) on the performance of an aerobic granular sludge (AGS) sequencing batch reactor (SBR) system operated with 6-h anaerobic-aerobic cycles for the treatment of a synthetic textile wastewater. In this sense, two SBRs inoculated with AGS from a domestic wastewater treatment plant were run in parallel, being one supplied with the dye and the other used as a dye-free control. The AGS successfully adapted to the new hydrodynamic conditions forming smaller, denser granules in both reactors, with optimal sludge volume index values of 19 and 17 mL g(-1) after 5-min and 30-min settling, respectively. As a result, high biomass concentration levels and sludge age values were registered, up to 13 gTSS L(-1) and 40 days, respectively, when deliberate biomass wastage was limited to the sampling needs. Stable dye removal yields above 90% were attained during the anaerobic reaction phase, confirmed by the formation of one of the aromatic amines arising from azo bond reduction. The control of the sludge retention time (SRT) to 15 days triggered a 30% reduction in the biodecolorization yield. However, the increase of the SRT values back to levels above 25 days reverted this effect and also promoted the complete bioconversion of the identified aromatic amine during the aerobic reaction phase. The dye and its breakdown products did not negatively affect the treatment performance, as organic load removal yields higher than 80% were attained in both reactors, up to 77% occurring in the anaerobic phase. These high anaerobic organic removal levels were correlated to an increase of Defluviicoccus-related glycogen accumulating organisms in the biomass. Also, the capacity of the system to deal with shocks of high dye concentration and organic load was successfully demonstrated. Granule breakup after long-term operation only occurred in the dye-free control SBR, suggesting that the azo dye plays an important role in improving granule stability. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis confirmed the compact structure of the dye-fed granules, microbial activity being apparently maintained in the granule core, as opposed to the dye-free control. These findings support the potential application of the AGS technology for textile wastewater treatment.

[Rhodobaculum claviforme gen. nov., sp. nov., a New Alkaliphilic Nonsulfur Purple Bacterium].

Two alkaliphilic strains of nonsulfur purple bacteria (NPB), B7-4 and B8-2, were isolated from southeast Siberia moderately saline alkaline steppe lakes with pH values above 9.0. The isolates were motile, polymorphous cells (from short rods to long spindly cells) 2.0-3.2 x 9.6-20.0 µm. Intracellular membranes of vesicular type were mostly located at the cell periphery. The microorganisms contained bacteriochlorophyll a and carotenoids of the spheroidene and spirilloxanthin series. The photosynthetic apparatus was represented by LH2 and LH1 light-harvesting complexes. In the presence of organic compounds, the strains grew aerobically in the dark or anaerobically in the light. Capacity for photo- and chemoautotrophic growth was not detected. The cbbl gene encoding RuBisCO was not revealed. Optimal growth of both strains occurred at 2% NaCl (range from 0.5 to 4%), pH 8.0-8.8 (range from 7.5 to 9.7), and 25-35 degrees C. The DNA G+C content was 67.6-69.8 mol %. Pairwise comparison of the nucleotides of the 16S rRNA genes revealed that strains B7-4 and B8-2 belonged to the same species (99.9% homology) and were most closely related to the aerobic alkaliphilic bacteriochlorophyll a-containing anoxygenic phototrophic bacterium (APB) Roseibacula alcaliphilum De (95.2%) and to NPB strains Rhodobaca barguzinensis VKM B-2406(T) (94.2%) and Rbc. bogoriensis LBB1(T) (93.9%). The isolates were closely related to the NPB Rhodobacter veldkampii DSM 11550(T) (94.8%) and to aerobic bacteriochlorophyll a-containing bacteria Roseinatronobacter monicus ROS 35(T) and Roseicitreum antarcticul ZS2-28(T) (93.5 and 93.9%, respectively). New strains were described as a new NPB genus and species of the family Rhodobacteriaceae, Rhodobaculum claviforme gen. nov., sp. nov., with B7-4(T) (VKM B-2708, LMG 28126) as the type strain.

Stark absorption spectroscopy on the carotenoids bound to B800-820 and B800-850 type LH2 complexes from a purple photosynthetic bacterium, Phaeospirillum molischianum strain DSM120.

Stark absorption spectroscopy was applied to clarify the structural differences between carotenoids bound to the B800-820 and B800-850 LH2 complexes from a purple photosynthetic bacterium Phaeospirillum (Phs.) molischianum DSM120. The former complex is produced when the bacteria are grown under stressed conditions of low temperature and dim light. These two LH2 complexes bind carotenoids with similar composition, 10% lycopene and 80% rhodopin, each with the same number of conjugated CC double bonds (n=11). Quantitative classical and semi-quantum chemical analyses of Stark absorption spectra recorded in the carotenoid absorption region reveal that the absolute values of the difference dipole moments |Δµ| have substantial differences (2 [D/f]) for carotenoids bound to either B800-820 or B800-850 complexes. The origin of this striking difference in the |Δµ| values was analyzed using the X-ray crystal structure of the B800-850 LH2 complex from Phs. molischianum DSM119. Semi-empirical molecular orbital calculations predict structural deformations of the major carotenoid, rhodopin, bound within the B800-820 complex. We propose that simultaneous rotations around neighboring CC and CC bonds account for the differences in the 2 [D/f] of the |Δµ| value. The plausible position of the rotation is postulated to be located around C21-C24 bonds of rhodopin.