''Janthinobacterium lividum'' is an

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

Gram-negative Gram-negative bacteria are bacteria that do not retain the crystal violet stain used in the Gram staining method of bacterial differentiation. They are characterized by their cell envelopes, which are composed of a thin peptidoglycan cell wall ...

, soil-dwelling

bacterium Bacteria (; singular: bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micrometres in length, bacteria were among ...

that has a distinctive dark-violet (almost black) color, due to a compound called violacein, which is produced when

glycerol Glycerol (), also called glycerine in British English and glycerin in American English, is a simple triol compound. It is a colorless, odorless, viscous liquid that is sweet-tasting and non-toxic. The glycerol backbone is found in lipids known ...

is metabolized as a carbon source. Violacein has antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Its antifungal properties are of particular interest, since ''J. lividum'' is found on the skin of certain amphibians, including the red-backed salamander (''

Plethodon cinereus The red-backed salamander (''Plethodon cinereus'') is a small, hardy woodland salamander species in the family Plethodontidae. It is also known as the redback salamander, eastern red-backed salamander,Integrated Taxonomic Information System nte ...

''), where it prevents infection by the devastating chytrid fungus (''

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' ( ), also known as ''Bd'' or the amphibian chytrid fungus, is a fungus that causes the disease chytridiomycosis in amphibians. Since its discovery in 1998 by Lee Berger, the disease devastated amphibian popul ...

'').

Etymology

The genus name, ''Janthinobacterium'', comes from Latin ''janthinus'', which means "violet" or "violet-blue" + ''bacterium'', which means rod or staff. The species name is also from Latin, ''lividum'', which means "of a blue or leaden color".

Antifungal properties

This bacterium produces

antifungal An antifungal medication, also known as an antimycotic medication, is a pharmaceutical fungicide or fungistatic used to treat and prevent mycosis such as athlete's foot, ringworm, candidiasis (thrush), serious systemic infections such as crypto ...

compounds, such as

indole-3-carboxaldehyde Indole-3-carbaldehyde (I3A), also known as indole-3-aldehyde and 3-formylindole, is a metabolite of dietary which is synthesized by Gut flora, human gastrointestinal bacteria, particularly species of the ''Lactobacillus'' genus. I3A is a Biologic ...

and violacein.

Resistance to ''B. dendrobatidis''

''J. lividum'' inhibits the toxic effect and growth of the fungal genus'' Batrachochytrium.'' This fungus causes a disease known as

chytridiomycosis Chytridiomycosis ( ) is an infectious disease in amphibians, caused by the chytrid fungi ''Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis'' and ''Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans''. Chytridiomycosis has been linked to dramatic population declines or extincti ...

in amphibians, and is contributing to the massive declines of amphibians around the world, so understanding the uses of these bacteria has been of major interest. A study conducted in 2009 explored the effects of ''Bd'' and the use of ''J. lividium'' in the lab for survival. The three experimental treatments were: frogs infected with ''Bd'', frogs given the bacterium ''J. lividium'', and frogs with the given bacterium and then exposed to ''Bd''. Nearly all of the frogs exposed to ''Bd'' alone experienced mortality, while none of the other treatments had any deaths. This effectively introduced the use of ''J. lividium'' as a possible method for ''Bd'' prevention in the lab setting.

Textile dyeing

The

pigment A pigment is a colored material that is completely or nearly insoluble in water. In contrast, dyes are typically soluble, at least at some stage in their use. Generally dyes are often organic compounds whereas pigments are often inorganic compo ...

produced by ''J. lividum'' is also being used to colour

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

. The

biodegradable Biodegradation is the breakdown of organic matter by microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi. It is generally assumed to be a natural process, which differentiates it from composting. Composting is a human-driven process in which biodegradati ...

pigment could be an alternative to synthetic textile

dye A dye is a colored substance that chemically bonds to the substrate to which it is being applied. This distinguishes dyes from pigments which do not chemically bind to the material they color. Dye is generally applied in an aqueous solution an ...

s that contain harmful chemicals and heavy metals.

References

External links

Type strain of ''Janthinobacterium lividum'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Burkholderiales Bacteria described in 1978 {{betaproteobacteria-stub