Complete genome sequence of Methanospirillum hungatei type strain JF1

Robert P Gunsalus; Lauren E Cook; Bryan Crable; Lars Rohlin; Erin McDonald; Housna Mouttaki; Jessica R Sieber; Nicole Poweleit; Hong Zhou; Alla L Lapidus; Hajnalka Erzsebet Daligault; Miriam Land; Paul Gilna; Natalia Ivanova; Nikos Kyrpides; David E Culley; Michael J McInerney

doi:10.1186/s40793-015-0124-8

Complete genome sequence of Methanospirillum hungatei type strain JF1

Stand Genomic Sci. 2016 Jan 6:11:2. doi: 10.1186/s40793-015-0124-8. eCollection 2016.

Authors

Robert P Gunsalus¹, Lauren E Cook², Bryan Crable³, Lars Rohlin², Erin McDonald², Housna Mouttaki⁴, Jessica R Sieber³, Nicole Poweleit², Hong Zhou², Alla L Lapidus⁵, Hajnalka Erzsebet Daligault⁶, Miriam Land⁷, Paul Gilna⁷, Natalia Ivanova⁸, Nikos Kyrpides⁹, David E Culley¹⁰, Michael J McInerney³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1489 USA ; UCLA DOE Institute for Genomics and Proteomics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1489 USA.
² Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1489 USA.
³ Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 USA.
⁴ Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1489 USA ; Department of Botany and Microbiology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019 USA.
⁵ Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bionformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia ; Algorithmic Biology Lab, St. Petersburg Academic University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
⁶ Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bionformatics, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia.
⁷ Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee USA.
⁸ DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA USA.
⁹ DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA USA ; Department of Biological Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA USA.

Abstract

Methanospirillum hungatei strain JF1 (DSM 864) is a methane-producing archaeon and is the type species of the genus Methanospirillum, which belongs to the family Methanospirillaceae within the order Methanomicrobiales. Its genome was selected for sequencing due to its ability to utilize hydrogen and carbon dioxide and/or formate as a sole source of energy. Ecologically, M. hungatei functions as the hydrogen- and/or formate-using partner with many species of syntrophic bacteria. Its morphology is distinct from other methanogens with the ability to form long chains of cells (up to 100 μm in length), which are enclosed within a sheath-like structure, and terminal cells with polar flagella. The genome of M. hungatei strain JF1 is the first completely sequenced genome of the family Methanospirillaceae, and it has a circular genome of 3,544,738 bp containing 3,239 protein coding and 68 RNA genes. The large genome of M. hungatei JF1 suggests the presence of unrecognized biochemical/physiological properties that likely extend to the other Methanospirillaceae and include the ability to form the unusual sheath-like structure and to successfully interact with syntrophic bacteria.

Keywords: Anaerobic; Formate; Hydrogen; Methangenic archaea; Methanomicrobiales; Motile; Syntrophic partnerships.