β-Galactosidase, is a glycoside hydrolase enzyme that catalyzes hydrolysis of terminal non-reducing β-D-galactose residues in β-D-galactosides.
The phylum Bacteroidota is composed of three large classes of Gram-negative, nonsporeforming, anaerobic or aerobic, and rod-shaped bacteria that are widely distributed in the environment, including in soil, sediments, and sea water, as well as in the guts and on the skin of animals.
The lactose operon is an operon required for the transport and metabolism of lactose in E. coli and many other enteric bacteria. Although glucose is the preferred carbon source for most bacteria, the lac operon allows for the effective digestion of lactose when glucose is not available through the activity of beta-galactosidase. Gene regulation of the lac operon was the first genetic regulatory mechanism to be understood clearly, so it has become a foremost example of prokaryotic gene regulation. It is often discussed in introductory molecular and cellular biology classes for this reason. This lactose metabolism system was used by François Jacob and Jacques Monod to determine how a biological cell knows which enzyme to synthesize. Their work on the lac operon won them the Nobel Prize in Physiology in 1965.
Acidobacteriota is a phylum of Gram-negative bacteria. Its members are physiologically diverse and ubiquitous, especially in soils, but are under-represented in culture.
Bacillus safensis is a Gram-positive, spore-forming, and rod bacterium, originally isolated from a spacecraft in Florida and California. B. safensis could have possibly been transported to the planet Mars on spacecraft Opportunity and Spirit in 2004. There are several known strains of this bacterium, all of which belong to the Bacillota phylum of Bacteria. This bacterium also belongs to the large, pervasive genus Bacillus. B. safensis is an aerobic chemoheterotroph and is highly resistant to salt and UV radiation. B. safensis affects plant growth, since it is a powerful plant hormone producer, and it also acts as a plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, enhancing plant growth after root colonization. Strain B. safensis JPL-MERTA-8-2 is the only bacterial strain shown to grow noticeably faster in micro-gravity environments than on the Earth surface.
The molecule laminarin (also known as laminaran) is a storage glucan (a polysaccharide of glucose) found in brown algae. It is used as a carbohydrate food reserve in the same way that chrysolaminarin is used by phytoplankton, especially in diatoms. It is created by photosynthesis and is made up of β(1→3)-glucan with β(1→6)-branches. It is a linear polysaccharide, with a β(1→3):β(1→6) ratio of 3:1. Its hydrolysis is catalyzed by enzymes such as laminarinase (EC 3.2.1.6) that breaks the β(1→3) bonds. It has been suggested that the annual production of algae laminarin amounts to 12 ± 8 gigatons, i.e., about three times the annual atmospheric CO2 increase by fossil fuel burning, that its concentration is driven by light variability and that it contributes substantially to the carbon export from surface waters, as it may account for up to half of organic carbon in sinking diatom-containing particles.
CRT is the gene cluster responsible for the biosynthesis of carotenoids. Those genes are found in eubacteria, in algae and are cryptic in Streptomyces griseus.
The genus Lysobacter belongs to the family Xanthomonadaceae within the Gammaproteobacteria and includes at least 46 named species, including: Lysobacter enzymogenes, L. antibioticus, L. gummosus, L. brunescens, L. defluvii, L. niabensis, L. niastensis, L. daejeonensis, L. yangpyeongensis, L. koreensis, L. concretionis, L. spongiicola, and L. capsici. Lysobacter spp. were originally grouped with myxobacteria because they shared the distinctive trait of gliding motility, but they uniquely display a number of traits that distinguish them from other taxonomically and ecologically related microbes including high genomic G+C content and the lack of flagella. The feature of gliding motility alone has piqued the interest of many, since the role of gliding bacteria in soil ecology is poorly understood. In addition, while a number of different mechanisms have been proposed for gliding motility among a wide range of bacterial species, the genetic mechanism in Lysobacter remains unknown. Members of the Lysobacter group have gained broad interest for production of extracellular enzymes. The group is also regarded as a rich source for production of novel antibiotics, such as β-lactams containing substituted side chains, macrocyclic lactams and macrocyclic peptide or depsipeptide antibiotics like the katanosins.
Edible seaweed, or sea vegetables, are seaweeds that can be eaten and used for culinary purposes. They typically contain high amounts of fiber. They may belong to one of several groups of multicellular algae: the red algae, green algae, and brown algae. Seaweeds are also harvested or cultivated for the extraction of polysaccharides such as alginate, agar and carrageenan, gelatinous substances collectively known as hydrocolloids or phycocolloids. Hydrocolloids have attained commercial significance, especially in food production as food additives. The food industry exploits the gelling, water-retention, emulsifying and other physical properties of these hydrocolloids.
Beta porphyranase is an enzyme responsible for the degradation of porphyran, which composes the cell wall of red algae. So far only five β-porphyranases have been identified: PorA and PorB are found in the marine bacteria Zobellia galactinovirans. A wild-type porphyranase activity has been found in Pseudoalteromonas atlantica. BpGH16B and BpGH86A have been found in the human gut bacterium, Bacteroides plebeius, of Japanese individuals.
Alcanivorax pacificus is a pyrene-degrading marine gammaproteobacterium. It is of the genus Alcanivorax, a group of marine bacteria known for degrading hydrocarbons. When originally proposed, the genus Alcanivorax comprised six distinguishable species. However, A. pacificus, a seventh strain, was isolated from deep sea sediments in the West Pacific Ocean by Shanghai Majorbio Bio-pharm Technology Co., Ltd. in 2011. A. pacificus’s ability to degrade hydrocarbons can be employed for cleaning up oil-contaminated oceans through bioremediation. The genomic differences present in this strain of Alcanivorax that distinguish it from the original consortium are important to understand to better utilize this bacteria for bioremediation.
Dialister pneumosintes is a nonfermentative, anaerobic, gram-negative rod that grows with small, circular, transparent, shiny, smooth colonies on blood agar. D. pneumosintes has been recovered from deep periodontal pockets, but little is known about the relationship between the organism and destructive periodontal disease.
Enterobacter cowanii is a Gram-negative, motile, facultatively-anaerobic, rod-shaped bacterium of the genus Enterobacter. The species is typically associated with natural environments and is found in soil, water, and sewage. E. cowanii is associated with plant pathogens that exhibit symptoms of severe defoliation and plant death. This species, originally referred to as NIH Group 42, was first proposed in 2000 as a potential member of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The name of this species honors S. T. Cowan, an English bacteriologist, for his significant contributions to the field of bacterial taxonomy.
Symbiobacterium thermophilum is a symbiotic thermophile that depends on co-culture with a Bacillus strain for growth. It is Gram-negative and tryptophanase-positive, with type strain T(T). It is the type species of its genus. Symbiobacterium is related to the Gram-positive Bacillota and Actinomycetota, but belongs to a lineage that is distinct from both.S. thermophilum has a bacillus shaped cell structure with no flagella. This bacterium is located throughout the environment in soils and fertilizers.
Microbiota-accessible carbohydrates (MACs) are carbohydrates that are resistant to digestion by a host's metabolism, and are made available for gut microbes, as prebiotics, to ferment or metabolize into beneficial compounds, such as short chain fatty acids. The term, ‘‘microbiota-accessible carbohydrate’’ contributes to a conceptual framework for investigating and discussing the amount of metabolic activity that a specific food or carbohydrate can contribute to a host's microbiota.
Dokdonia donghaensis is a strictly aerobic, gram-negative, phototrophic bacterium that thrives in marine environments. The organism can grow at a broad range of temperatures on seawater media. It has the ability to form biofilms, which increases the organism's resistance to antimicrobial agents, such as tetracycline.
Zobellia is a strictly aerobic genus from the family of Flavobacteriaceae. Zobellia bacteria occur in marine habitats.
Polaribacter is a genus in the family Flavobacteriaceae. They are gram-negative, aerobic bacteria that can be heterotrophic, psychrophilic or mesophilic. Most species are non-motile and species range from ovoid to rod-shaped. Polaribacter forms yellow- to orange-pigmented colonies. They have been mostly adapted to cool marine ecosystems, and their optimal growth range is at a temperature between 10 and 32 °C and at a pH of 7.0 to 8.0. They are oxidase and catalase-positive and are able to grow using carbohydrates, amino acids, and organic acids.
Phocaeicola plebeius, formerly Bacteroides plebeius, is a microbe found in the human gut, most often found in Japan natives. It is able to digest porphyran, a polysacchide from Porphyra seaweed (nori) that humans cannot digest on their own. The porphyranase-encoding gene Bp1689 is believed to have been derived from the microbe Zobellia galactanivorans via horizontal gene transfer, as part of a gene cluster containing other carbohydrate-active enzymes.
Ulvan lyase is an enzyme found within the cell-wall of the marine organism Ulvales, and some marine bacterium. A lyase is a class of enzyme that catalyzes the breakdown of chemical bonds through an elimination reaction mechanism, rather than a substitution reaction mechanism. Ulvan lyase belongs to the polysaccharide lyase family, a type of enzyme that primarily functions to cleave glycosidic linkages in polysaccharides.
