Characterization of novel hydrocarbon-degrading Gordonia paraffinivorans and Gordonia sihwensis strains isolated from composting

Abstract

Hydrocarbons are important environmental pollutants, and the isolation and characterization of new microorganisms with the ability to degrade these compounds are important for effective biodegradation. In this work we isolated and characterized several bacterial isolates from compost, a substrate rich in microbial diversity. The isolates were obtained from selective culture medium containing n-hexadecane, aiming to recover alkane-degraders. Six isolates identified as Gordonia by MALDI-TOF and 16S rRNA sequencing had the ability to degrade n-hexadecane in three days. Two isolates were selected for genomic and functional characterization, Gordonia paraffinivorans (MTZ052) and Gordonia sihwensis (MTZ096). The CG-MS results showed distinct n-hexadecane degradation rates for MTZ052 and MTZ096 (86% and 100% respectively). The genome sequence showed that MTZ052 encodes only one alkane degrading gene cluster, the CYP153 system, while MTZ096 harbors both the Alkane Hydroxylase (AH) and the CYP153 systems. qPCR showed that both gene clusters are induced by the presence of n-hexadecane in the growth medium, suggesting that G . paraffinivorans and G . sihwensis use these systems for degradation. Altogether, our results indicate that these Gordonia isolates have a good potential for biotransformation of hydrocarbons.

Gordonia species as a rare pathogen isolated from milk of dairy cows with mastitis

“…Tree was drawn by Mega 34 . For detailed comparison of gene content, the mastitis isolates were compared with the environmental isolates G. paraffinivorans NBRC 108238 type strain (genome assembly number GCA_000344155.1, BioSample number SAMD00041809) 9 and MTZ 041 strain isolated from compost (genome assembly number GCA_003121315.1, BioSample number SAMN03785434) 10 . These genomes were annotated using prokka 35 , and annotation was compared by GenAPI 36 .…”

“…Gordonia paraffinivorans has been found in hydrocarbon-contaminated environments such as oil fields 8 , 9 . It has also been isolated from compost after selective propagation in a medium with hydrocarbons as carbon sources 10 and together with other Gordonia species in biofilms in milking machines 11 . Simultaneously with our study, G. paraffinivorans was identified as a mastitis-causing pathogen of dairy cows in several regions in two other Central European countries, Hungary and Germany, in a thesis in Hungarian 12 and in a German language journal for practising veterinarians 13 , respectively.…”

Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) bioremediation by hydrocarbonoclastic degrading bacteria (Gordonia terrae)

“…Gordonia sp. widely distributed in nature and can degrade, convert and synthesize organic compounds [25].…”

Genome-resolved metagenome and metatranscriptome analyses of thermophilic composting reveal key bacterial players and their metabolic interactions

“…The composting microbiome is considered a valuable microbial resource for biomass degradation, with potential for contributing to a number of biotechnological applications besides its remarkable activities on soil bioremediation and suppressiveness against plant diseases [ 2 , 6 , 10 , 11 ]. In spite of this potential, knowledge on how to control and explore those microbes and their functions remains encrypted within their genomes and the multiple combinations of metabolic pathways that they can activate [ 6 , 8 , 12 ].…”