Genomic insights into the physiology of Quinella, an iconic uncultured rumen bacterium.
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Date
2022-10-20
Open Access Location
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Portfolio
Rights
(c) 2022 The Author/s
CC BY 4.0
CC BY 4.0
Abstract
Quinella is a genus of iconic rumen bacteria first reported in 1913. There are no cultures of these bacteria, and information on their physiology is scarce and contradictory. Increased abundance of Quinella was previously found in the rumens of some sheep that emit low amounts of methane (CH4) relative to their feed intake, but whether Quinella contributes to low CH4 emissions is not known. Here, we concentrate Quinella cells from sheep rumen contents, extract and sequence DNA, and reconstruct Quinella genomes that are >90% complete with as little as 0.20% contamination. Bioinformatic analyses of the encoded proteins indicate that lactate and propionate formation are major fermentation pathways. The presence of a gene encoding a potential uptake hydrogenase suggests that Quinella might be able to use free hydrogen (H2). None of the inferred metabolic pathways is predicted to produce H2, a major precursor of CH4, which is consistent with the lower CH4 emissions from those sheep with high abundances of this bacterium.
Description
Keywords
Sheep, Animals, Rumen, Propionates, Bacteria, Methane, Fermentation, Hydrogen, Veillonellaceae, Genomics, Lactates, Diet
Citation
Kumar S, Altermann E, Leahy SC, Jauregui R, Jonker A, Henderson G, Kittelmann S, Attwood GT, Kamke J, Waters SM, Patchett ML, Janssen PH. (2022). Genomic insights into the physiology of Quinella, an iconic uncultured rumen bacterium.. Nat Commun. 13. 1. (pp. 6240-).