Euglena gracilis can grow in the mixed culture containing Cladosporium westerdijkiae, Lysinibacillus boronitolerans and Pseudobacillus badius without the addition of vitamins B1 and B12

Lukáčová, Alexandra; Beck, Terézia; Koptašiková, Lenka; Benda, Aleš; Tomečková, Lucia; Trniková, Miriam; Lihanová, Diana; Steiner, Jürgen; Krajčovič, Juraj; Vesteg, Matej

doi:10.1016/j.jbiotec.2022.04.013

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Several algae have been investigated for bioremediation of textiles, organic pollutants, and HMs [69, 70,71,72], and recent studies have suggested that co-culturing algae with bacteria or fungi provides bene ts that include increased occulation e ciency, increased biomass, independent nutrient exchange, and enhanced tolerance to extreme environments [7,67,73,74,75,76]. The model euglenoid E. gracilis has also been co-cultured with other microbes [21,77], however the discoveries here show that E. mutabilis and its naturally associated microbial partners offer substantial insight into how organisms interact in a co-culture and provides a model to use for developing enhanced technological applications and potential use in bioremediation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Insight regarding microbial interactions with Euglena in various environments has been gained by establishing synthetic associations in culture. Notably, E. gracilis is incapable of synthesizing vitamins B 1 or B 12 and must obtain these from exogenous sources [21]. When it is cultured with bacteria that can produce these vitamins, Lysinibacillus boronitolerans or Pseudobacillus badius, E. gracilis is able to grow for several generations without exogenous vitamin application [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Notably, E. gracilis is incapable of synthesizing vitamins B 1 or B 12 and must obtain these from exogenous sources [21]. When it is cultured with bacteria that can produce these vitamins, Lysinibacillus boronitolerans or Pseudobacillus badius, E. gracilis is able to grow for several generations without exogenous vitamin application [21]. Euglena biomass and compound production was also enhanced when grown with the growth promoting bacteria Emiticicia sp.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mutually beneficial FAB consortia fortify stress resistance of Euglena mutabilis: evidence from sequencing, antibiotics, and Cd challenges

Kaszecki,

Palberg,

Grant

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Synthetic algal-fungal and algal-bacterial cultures have been investigated for technological applications because the microbe interactions enhance growth and improve stress tolerance of the co-cultures. Yet these studies often disregarded natural consortia due to the complexity of environmental samples. The protist Euglena mutabilis is found in association with other microbes in acidic environments with high heavy metal (HM) concentrations. This may suggest that microbial interactions are essential for the alga’s ability to tolerate these extreme environments. Our study assessed the Cd tolerance of a natural fungal-algal-bacterial (FAB) association where the algae is replaced by the photosynthetic protist E. mutabilis. Results This study provides the first assessment of antimycotic and antibiotic agents on E. mutabilis. Our results indicate that suppression of associated fungal and bacterial partners significantly decreases the number of viable E. mutabilis cells upon Cd exposure. However, axenic Euglena gracilis recovered and grew well following antibiotic treatments. Interestingly, both Euglena species displayed increased chlorophyll production upon Cd exposure. Finally, the constituent organisms in the E. mutabilis FAB consortia were identified using PacBio sequencing to be a Talaromyces sp and Acidiphilium acidophilum. Conclusion This study uncovers a possible tripartite symbiotic relationship, a FAB consortia, that withstands exposure to high concentrations of HM. This unique fungus, bacterium, and E. mutabilis interaction strengthens the photobiont’s resistance to Cd and provides a model for the types of FAB interactions that could be used to create a self-sustaining bioremediation technology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mutually beneficial FAB consortia fortify stress resistance of Euglena mutabilis: evidence from sequencing, antibiotics, and Cd challenges

Kaszecki,

Palberg,

Grant

et al. 2023

Preprint

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“…E. gracilis has many biotechnological implications for the production of pharmaceuticals, dietary supplements, biomaterials and biofuels [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 ]. It is a natural source of bioproducts such as dietary proteins containing all essential amino acids, wax esters (a feedstock for biofuels), polyunsaturated fatty acids and its storage polysaccharide paramylon (a β-1,3-glucan) with immunostimulatory properties and broad applications in medicine [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The high price of these vitamins is the highest limitation factor for obtaining high yields of E. gracilis biomass for biotechnological purposes. On the other hand, no addition of vitamins is required when E. gracilis is grown in co-culture with the bacteria Pseudobacillus badius and Lysinibacillus boronitolerans and with the micromycete Cladosporium westerdijkiae , suggesting that these microorganisms can produce sufficient amounts of vitamins B 1 and B 12 for this flagellate [ 13 , 14 ]. Many E. gracilis cells in this co-culture are attached to the fungal hyphae by flagella, suggesting that such bioflocculation offers the possibility for effective harvesting of E. gracilis biomass simply using nets [ 13 , 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Phenol on the Growth, Morphology and Cell Division of Euglena gracilis

Lukáčová

Lihanová

Beck

et al. 2023

Life

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Phenol, a monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with various commercial uses, is a major pollutant in industrial wastewater. Euglena gracilis is a unicellular freshwater flagellate possessing secondary chloroplasts of green algal origin. This protist has been widely used for monitoring the biological effect of various inorganic and organic environmental pollutants, including aromatic hydrocarbons. In this study, we evaluate the influence of different phenol concentrations (3.39 mM, 3.81 mM, 4.23 mM, 4.65 mM, 5.07 mM, 5.49 mM and 5.91 mM) on the growth, morphology and cell division of E. gracilis. The cell count continually decreases (p < 0.05–0.001) over time with increasing phenol concentration. While phenol treatment does not induce bleaching (permanent loss of photosynthesis), the morphological changes caused by phenol include the formation of spherical (p < 0.01–0.001), hypertrophied (p < 0.05) and monster cells (p < 0.01) and lipofuscin bodies. Phenol also induces an atypical form of cell division of E. gracilis, simultaneously producing more than 2 (3–12) viable cells from a single cell. Such atypically dividing cells have a symmetric “star”-like shape. The percentage of atypically dividing cells increases (p < 0.05) with increasing phenol concentration. Our findings suggest that E. gracilis can be used as bioindicator of phenol contamination in freshwater habitats and wastewater.

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Euglena mutabilis exists in a FAB consortium with microbes that enhance cadmium tolerance

Kaszecki,

Palberg,

Grant

et al. 2024

Int Microbiol

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Background Synthetic algal–fungal and algal–bacterial cultures have been investigated as a means to enhance the technological applications of the algae. This inclusion of other microbes has enhanced growth and improved stress tolerance of the algal culture. The goal of the current study was to investigate natural microbial consortia to gain an understanding of the occurrence and benefits of these associations in nature. The photosynthetic protist Euglena mutabilis is often found in association with other microbes in acidic environments with high heavy metal (HM) concentrations. This may suggest that microbial interactions are essential for the protist’s ability to tolerate these extreme environments. Our study assessed the Cd tolerance of a natural fungal–algal–bacterial (FAB) association whereby the algae is E. mutabilis. Results This study provides the first assessment of antibiotic and antimycotic agents on an E. mutabilis culture. The results indicate that antibiotic and antimycotic applications significantly decreased the viability of E. mutabilis cells when they were also exposed to Cd. Similar antibiotic treatments of E. gracilis cultures had variable or non-significant impacts on Cd tolerance. E. gracilis also recovered better after pre-treatment with antibiotics and Cd than did E. mutabilis. The recoveries were assessed by heterotrophic growth without antibiotics or Cd. In contrast, both Euglena species displayed increased chlorophyll production upon Cd exposure. PacBio full-length amplicon sequencing and targeted Sanger sequencing identified the microbial species present in the E. mutabilis culture to be the fungus Talaromyces sp. and the bacterium Acidiphilium acidophilum. Conclusion This study uncovers a possible fungal, algal, and bacterial relationship, what we refer to as a FAB consortium. The members of this consortium interact to enhance the response to Cd exposure. This results in a E. mutabilis culture that has a higher tolerance to Cd than the axenic E. gracilis. The description of this interaction provides a basis for explore the benefits of natural interactions. This will provide knowledge and direction for use when creating or maintaining FAB interactions for biotechnological purposes, including bioremediation.

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Euglena gracilis can grow in the mixed culture containing Cladosporium westerdijkiae, Lysinibacillus boronitolerans and Pseudobacillus badius without the addition of vitamins B1 and B12

Cited by 8 publications

References 66 publications

Mutually beneficial FAB consortia fortify stress resistance of Euglena mutabilis: evidence from sequencing, antibiotics, and Cd challenges

Mutually beneficial FAB consortia fortify stress resistance of Euglena mutabilis: evidence from sequencing, antibiotics, and Cd challenges

The Influence of Phenol on the Growth, Morphology and Cell Division of Euglena gracilis

Euglena mutabilis exists in a FAB consortium with microbes that enhance cadmium tolerance

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