''Methylophaga muralis'' is a species of
Pseudomonadota. It is capable of surviving in
saline and
alkaline environments and can obtain its carbon from
methanol. This species was originally discovered in crumbling marble in the
Moscow Kremlin; it has also been found in a
soda lake
A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complex ...
in
Buryatia.
Taxonomic history and etymology
This species was discovered in scrapings from deteriorating marble monuments in the crypts of the
Moscow Kremlin.
It was originally named ''M. murata'' in its 2005
species description
A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have be ...
by
Russian Academy of Sciences
The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; russian: Росси́йская акаде́мия нау́к (РАН) ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across ...
microbiologist and colleagues,
but was renamed in 2011 to ''M. muralis''.
The
type strain
The International Code of Nomenclature of Prokaryotes (ICNP) formerly the International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB) or Bacteriological Code (BC) governs the scientific names for Bacteria and Archaea.P. H. A. Sneath, 2003. A short hist ...
, Kr3, was deposited in the
All-Russia Collection of Microorganisms (VKM) and the National Collection of Industrial and
Marine Bacteria (NCIMB)
culture collections.
The specific epithet is a Latin adjective meaning "of or belonging to a wall".
Its original specific epithet, , means "surrounded by walls".
Distribution and habitat
The type strain Kr3 was extracted in Moscow from marble with a
pH of 9.1.
''M. muralis'' is an example of an
endolith
An endolith or endolithic is an organism ( archaeon, bacterium, fungus, lichen, algae or amoeba) that is able to acquire the necessary resources for growth in the inner part of a rock, mineral, coral, animal shells, or in the pores between min ...
, being able to live on rock.
Another strain, named Bur 1, was isolated from a
soda lake
A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate (and related salt complex ...
in ,
Buryatia, Russia.
The bacteria grows in temperatures of , a pH of 6–11, and a
sodium chloride concentration of 0.05–3
moles per liter; although the optimal habitat is a temperature of , a pH of 8–9, and a sodium chloride concentration of 0.5–1.5 mol/L. It can survive being heated to , being frozen, or being
freeze-dried
Freeze drying, also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation, is a low temperature dehydration process that involves freezing the product and lowering pressure, removing the ice by sublimation. This is in contrast to dehydration by most conve ...
. As this species is adapted to saline and alkaline environments, it is considered both
halophilic
The halophiles, named after the Greek word for "salt-loving", are extremophiles that thrive in high salt concentrations. While most halophiles are classified into the domain Archaea, there are also bacterial halophiles and some eukaryotic species, ...
and
alkaliphilic.
Description and biology
''M. muralis'' cells are
rod-shaped, with a width of 0.7
µm and a length of 1.7–2.0 µm. Each cell has a
flagellum
A flagellum (; ) is a hairlike appendage that protrudes from certain plant and animal sperm cells, and from a wide range of microorganisms to provide motility. Many protists with flagella are termed as flagellates.
A microorganism may have f ...
at one of its poles.
This species is
methylotrophic
Methylotrophs are a diverse group of microorganisms that can use reduced one-carbon compounds, such as methanol or methane, as the carbon source for their growth; and multi-carbon compounds that contain no carbon-carbon bonds, such as dimethyl et ...
, meaning it can utilize carbon from one-carbon molecules like
methanol and
methylamine, although it also obtains carbon from
trimethylamine
Trimethylamine (TMA) is an organic compound with the formula N(CH3)3. It is a colorless, hygroscopic, and flammable tertiary amine. It is a gas at room temperature but is usually sold as a 40% solution in water. (It is also sold in pressurized ...
, and
fructose. It is an
aerobic organism
Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen.
Aerobic may also refer to
* Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity
* Aerobics
Aerobics is a form of physical exercise that combines rhythmic aerobic exe ...
; in addition to requiring oxygen, it also needs
vitamin B
B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. Though these vitamins share similar names (B1, B2, B3, etc.), they are chemically distinct compounds that often coex ...
and
sodium
Sodium is a chemical element with the symbol Na (from Latin ''natrium'') and atomic number 11. It is a soft, silvery-white, highly reactive metal. Sodium is an alkali metal, being in group 1 of the periodic table. Its only stable ...
ions to grow. It is
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 wa ...
, like all
Pseudomonadota. Reproduction is done via
binary fission
Binary may refer to:
Science and technology Mathematics
* Binary number, a representation of numbers using only two digits (0 and 1)
* Binary function, a function that takes two arguments
* Binary operation, a mathematical operation that ta ...
; it does not make
spores
In biology, a spore is a unit of sexual or asexual reproduction that may be adapted for dispersal and for survival, often for extended periods of time, in unfavourable conditions. Spores form part of the life cycles of many plants, algae, ...
.
Its main
fatty acids
In chemistry, particularly in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated and unsaturated compounds#Organic chemistry, saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an B ...
are
palmitic acid
Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The L ...
,
palmitoleic acid
Palmitoleic acid, or (9''Z'')-hexadec-9-enoic acid, is an omega-7 monounsaturated fatty acid (16:1n-7) with the formula CH3(CH2)5CH=CH(CH2)7COOH that is a common constituent of the glycerides of human adipose tissue. It is present in all tissues ...
, and
octadecanoic acid. The main
phospholipids are
phosphatidylethanolamine,
phosphatidylglycerol, and
cardiolipin.
Ectoine
Ectoine (1,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2-methyl-4-pyrimidinecarboxylic acid) is a natural compound found in several species of bacteria. It is a compatible solute which serves as a protective substance by acting as an osmolyte and thus helps organisms surv ...
,
glutamate, and, to a lesser extent,
sucrose act as
osmoprotectants
Osmoprotectants or compatible solutes are small organic molecules with neutral charge and low toxicity at high concentrations that act as osmolytes and help organisms survive extreme osmotic stress. Osmoprotectants can be placed in three chemical c ...
.
Phylogeny
Plymouth University microbiologist Rich Boden, using the
Tamura–Nei model, has argued on the basis of
16S ribosomal RNA
16 S ribosomal RNA (or 16 S rRNA) is the RNA component of the 30S subunit of a prokaryotic ribosome ( SSU rRNA). It binds to the Shine-Dalgarno sequence and provides most of the SSU structure.
The genes coding for it are referred to as 16S rR ...
that ''M. muralis'', ''
M. alcalica'', and ''
M. lonarensis'' form a
clade to the exclusion of other ''Methylophaga'' species including
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...
of the genus, ''
M. marina''.
In 2013,
INRS microbiologist Richard Villemur and colleagues added their newly described species ''
M. nitratireducenticrescens'' and ''
M. frappieri'' to this clade based on 16S rRNA analysis as well.
All of the species in this clade are alkaliphilic.
References
External links
Type strain of ''Methylophaga muralis'' at Bac''Dive'' - the Bacterial Diversity Metadatabase
Further reading
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q43302177
Piscirickettsiaceae
Bacteria described in 2005
Halophiles
Alkaliphiles
Moscow Kremlin