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No endospore formation confirmed in members of the phylum Proteobacteria

Polina Beskrovnaya, Doaa Fakih, Danielle L. Sexton, Shipei Xing, Mona Golmohammadzadeh, Isabelle Morneau, Dainelys Guadarrama Bello, Antonio Nanci, Tao Huan, View ORCID ProfileElitza I. Tocheva
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.23.219022
Polina Beskrovnaya
aDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Doaa Fakih
bDepartment of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Danielle L. Sexton
aDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Shipei Xing
cDepartment of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Mona Golmohammadzadeh
aDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Isabelle Morneau
bDepartment of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Dainelys Guadarrama Bello
bDepartment of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Antonio Nanci
bDepartment of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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Tao Huan
cDepartment of Chemistry, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Elitza I. Tocheva
aDepartment of Microbiology & Immunology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
bDepartment of Stomatology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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  • ORCID record for Elitza I. Tocheva
  • For correspondence: elitza.tocheva@ubc.ca
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Abstract

Endospore formation is used by members of the phylum Firmicutes to withstand extreme environmental conditions. Several recent studies have documented endospore formation in species outside of Firmicutes, particularly in Rhodobacter johrii and Serratia marcescens, members of the phylum Proteobacteria. Here, we aimed to investigate endospore formation in these two species by using advanced imaging and analytical approaches. Examination of the phase-bright structures observed in R. johrii and S. marcescens using cryo-electron tomography failed to identify endospores or stages of endospore formation. We determined that the phase-bright objects in R. johrii cells were triacylglycerol storage granules and those in S. marcescens were aggregates of cellular debris. In addition, R. johrii and S. marcescens containing phase-bright objects do not possess phenotypic and genetic features of endospores, including enhanced resistance to heat, presence of dipicolinic acid, or the presence of many of the genes associated with endospore formation. Our results support the hypothesis that endospore formation is restricted to the phylum Firmicutes.

Importance Endospore formation is a mechanism that allows bacteria to generate resilient dormant spores under harsh environmental conditions. Although this process has been traditionally restricted to the largely Gram-positive bacteria of the phylum Firmicutes, recent studies have also described endospores in some Proteobacteria. High complexity of endosporulation, reflected in extensive morphological transformations governed by hundreds of conserved genes, hinders its facile acquisition via horizontal gene transfer. Therefore, ability of distantly related bacteria to produce endospores would imply an ancient nature of this mechanism and potentially a pivotal role in species diversification and outer membrane biogenesis.

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Posted July 25, 2020.
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No endospore formation confirmed in members of the phylum Proteobacteria
Polina Beskrovnaya, Doaa Fakih, Danielle L. Sexton, Shipei Xing, Mona Golmohammadzadeh, Isabelle Morneau, Dainelys Guadarrama Bello, Antonio Nanci, Tao Huan, Elitza I. Tocheva
bioRxiv 2020.07.23.219022; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.23.219022
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No endospore formation confirmed in members of the phylum Proteobacteria
Polina Beskrovnaya, Doaa Fakih, Danielle L. Sexton, Shipei Xing, Mona Golmohammadzadeh, Isabelle Morneau, Dainelys Guadarrama Bello, Antonio Nanci, Tao Huan, Elitza I. Tocheva
bioRxiv 2020.07.23.219022; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.07.23.219022

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