The Genome Sequence of Methanohalophilus mahii SLPT Reveals Differences in the Energy Metabolism among Members of the Methanosarcinaceae Inhabiting Freshwater and Saline Environments
Methanohalophilus mahii is the type species of the genus Methanohalophilus, which currently comprises three distinct species with validly published names. Mhp. mahii represents moderately halophilic methanogenic archaea with a strictly methylotrophic metabolism. The type strain SLPT was isolated from hypersaline sediments collected from the southern arm of Great Salt Lake, Utah. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 2,012,424 bp genome is a single replicon with 2032 protein-coding and 63 RNA genes and part of the Genomic Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project. A comparison of the reconstructed energy metabolism in the halophilic species Mhp. mahii with other representatives of the Methanosarcinaceae reveals some interesting differences to freshwater species. 1. Introduction Halophilic methanogens contribute significantly to carbon mineralization in marine and hypersaline environments. The preferred substrates for methanogenesis in these habitats are C-1 methylated compounds, for example, methylamines that are constantly provided by the degradation of osmolytes like glycine betaine or membrane compounds such as choline. The preference of methylated C-1 compounds over hydrogen by methanogens thriving in saline environments reflects a competition with sulfate-reducing bacteria that are able to utilize hydrogen more efficiently than methanogens, but usually cannot use methanol or methylamines as substrates [1]. Strain SLPT (= DSM 5219T = ATCC 35705T) is the type strain of the moderately halophilic methanogen Methanohalophilus mahii [2]. SLPT (Salt Lake Paterek) is the only strain of this species available from culture collections and was isolated from anoxic sediments of Great Salt Lake in Utah (USA) [3]. Although SLPT represents the only described strain of this species, cultivation independent studies indicate that methanogens that are closely related to Mhp. mahii are quite common in anoxic saline environments. The 16S rRNA gene sequence of the nearest neighbor, Methanohalophilus portucalensis strain FDF-1, shares 99.8% sequence identity with SLPT whereas the type strains of all other species in the Methanosarcinales share less than 94.7% with SLPT [4]. Numerous cloned 16S rRNA genes more than 99% identical to the sequence of SLPT were retrieved from hypersaline microbial mats of solar salterns in Guerrero Negro (Baja California Sur, Mexico) [5] and Eilat (Israel) [6], an endorheic hypersaline lake in La Macha, Spain (EF031086, unpublished), the deep-sea anoxic brine lake
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