Photoautotrophic growth achieved by interspecies interactions

Research Project

Project/Area Number	16K14812
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Research Field	Ecology/Environment
Research Institution	Tokyo Metropolitan University
Principal Investigator	HARUTA Shin 首都大学東京, 理工学研究科, 准教授 (50359642)
Research Collaborator	Fredrickson Jim Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, 主任研究員
Project Period (FY)	2016-04-01 – 2018-03-31
Project Status	Completed (Fiscal Year 2017)
Budget Amount *help	¥3,770,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥870,000) Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000) Fiscal Year 2016: ¥2,210,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥510,000)
Keywords	共生 / 光合成 / 独立栄養 / 炭酸固定
Outline of Final Research Achievements	Transcriptomic profiles were determined for C. aggregans-dominated microbial communities developed in hot springs. Comparative analysis of the profiles between day and night indicated that C. aggregans actively grows photoautotrophicaly using sulfide as the electron source. However, this growth was not observed in C. aggregans strains isolated from the hot springs. Effects of co-existing bacteria on the growth of C. aggregans were evaluated. Co-culture experiments found that fermentative bacteria and sulfur-disproportionating bacteria helped the autotrophic growth of C. aggregans. Results obtained in this study indicate that supply of sulfide and consumption of elemental sulfur by sulfur-disproportionation effectively support the sulfide-dependent photoautotrophic growth of C. aggregans.