Language:

Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

The ISME Journal, 2015-06, Vol.9 (6), p.1333-1351 [Peer Reviewed Journal]

Copyright Nature Publishing Group Jun 2015 ;Copyright © 2015 International Society for Microbial Ecology 2015 International Society for Microbial Ecology ;ISSN: 1751-7362 ;EISSN: 1751-7370 ;DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2014.219 ;PMID: 25500507

Full text available

Citations Cited by

Actions
1. Add to My Research
2. Remove from My Research
3. E-mail
4. Print
5. Permalink
6. Citation
7. EasyBib
8. EndNote
9. RefWorks
10. Delicious
11. Export RIS
12. Export BibTeX

Title:
Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?
Author: Stevenson, Andrew ; Cray, Jonathan A ; Williams, Jim P ; Santos, Ricardo ; Sahay, Richa ; Neuenkirchen, Nils ; McClure, Colin D ; Grant, Irene R ; Houghton, Jonathan Dr ; Quinn, John P ; Timson, David J ; Patil, Satish V ; Singhal, Rekha S ; Antón, Josefa ; Dijksterhuis, Jan ; Hocking, Ailsa D ; Lievens, Bart ; Rangel, Drauzio E N ; Voytek, Mary A ; Gunde-Cimerman, Nina ; Oren, Aharon ; Timmis, Kenneth N ; McGenity, Terry J ; Hallsworth, John E
Subjects: Archaea ; Archaea - metabolism ; Ascomycota - metabolism ; Aspergillus ; Aspergillus - metabolism ; Bacteria - metabolism ; Carbohydrates - chemistry ; Dunaliella ; Eurotium ; Fungi - metabolism ; Halobacterium ; Halobacterium - metabolism ; Halococcus ; Halophila ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Mycobacterium ; Original ; Sodium Chloride - chemistry ; Staphylococcus aureus ; Staphylococcus aureus - metabolism ; Temperature ; Tetragenococcus halophilus ; Water - physiology ; Water Microbiology ; Zygosaccharomyces rouxii
Is Part Of: The ISME Journal, 2015-06, Vol.9 (6), p.1333-1351
Description: Archaea and Bacteria constitute a majority of life systems on Earth but have long been considered inferior to Eukarya in terms of solute tolerance. Whereas the most halophilic prokaryotes are known for an ability to multiply at saturated NaCl (water activity (a(w)) 0.755) some xerophilic fungi can germinate, usually at high-sugar concentrations, at values as low as 0.650-0.605 a(w). Here, we present evidence that halophilic prokayotes can grow down to water activities of <0.755 for Halanaerobium lacusrosei (0.748), Halobacterium strain 004.1 (0.728), Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 and Halococcus morrhuae (0.717), Haloquadratum walsbyi (0.709), Halococcus salifodinae (0.693), Halobacterium noricense (0.687), Natrinema pallidum (0.681) and haloarchaeal strains GN-2 and GN-5 (0.635 a(w)). Furthermore, extrapolation of growth curves (prone to giving conservative estimates) indicated theoretical minima down to 0.611 aw for extreme, obligately halophilic Archaea and Bacteria. These were compared with minima for the most solute-tolerant Bacteria in high-sugar (or other non-saline) media (Mycobacterium spp., Tetragenococcus halophilus, Saccharibacter floricola, Staphylococcus aureus and so on) and eukaryotic microbes in saline (Wallemia spp., Basipetospora halophila, Dunaliella spp. and so on) and high-sugar substrates (for example, Xeromyces bisporus, Zygosaccharomyces rouxii, Aspergillus and Eurotium spp.). We also manipulated the balance of chaotropic and kosmotropic stressors for the extreme, xerophilic fungi Aspergillus penicilloides and X. bisporus and, via this approach, their established water-activity limits for mycelial growth (∼0.65) were reduced to 0.640. Furthermore, extrapolations indicated theoretical limits of 0.632 and 0.636 a(w) for A. penicilloides and X. bisporus, respectively. Collectively, these findings suggest that there is a common water-activity limit that is determined by physicochemical constraints for the three domains of life.
Publisher: England: Nature Publishing Group
Language: English
Identifier: ISSN: 1751-7362
EISSN: 1751-7370
DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2014.219
PMID: 25500507
Source: Open Access: PubMed Central
AUTh Library subscriptions: ProQuest Central
MEDLINE

Back to results list


INSPIRE LIBRARY - TON DUC THANG UNIVERSITY	(84-028) 37 755 057	Feedback
19 Nguyen Huu Tho St. Dist.7, HCM	thuvien@tdtu.edu.vn	Feedback

Is there a common water-activity limit for the three domains of life?

Copyright Nature Publishing Group Jun 2015 ;Copyright © 2015 International Society for Microbial Ecology 2015 International Society for Microbial Ecology ;ISSN: 1751-7362 ;EISSN: 1751-7370 ;DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2014.219 ;PMID: 25500507

Searching Remote Databases, Please Wait