Dominant coral-associated Endozoicomonas bacteria species are hypothesized to play a role in the coral sulfur cycle by metabolizing dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) into dimethylsulfide (DMS); however, no sequenced genome to date harbors genes for this process. In this study, we assembled high-quality (>95% complete) draft genomes of strains of the recently added species Endozoicomonas acroporae (Acr-14T, Acr-1, and Acr-5) isolated from the coral Acropora sp. and performed a comparative genomic analysis on the genus Endozoicomonas. We identified DMSP CoA-transferase/lyase-a dddD gene homolog in all sequenced genomes of E. acroporae strains-and functionally characterized bacteria capable of metabolizing DMSP into DMS via the DddD cleavage pathway using RT-qPCR and gas chromatography (GC). Furthermore, we demonstrated that E. acroporae strains can use DMSP as a carbon source and have genes arranged in an operon-like manner to link DMSP metabolism to the central carbon cycle. This study confirms the role of Endozoicomonas in the coral sulfur cycle.

中文翻译：

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比较基因组学：优势珊瑚细菌卫城内单胞菌代谢二甲磺基丙酸酯（DMSP）。


据推测，与珊瑚相关的优势内生单胞菌菌种通过将二甲磺酰丙酸 (DMSP) 代谢为二甲硫醚 (DMS) 在珊瑚硫循环中发挥作用；然而，迄今为止，还没有经过测序的基因组包含这一过程的基因。在这项研究中，我们组装了从珊瑚鹿角珊瑚中分离出来的最近添加的物种 Endozoicomonas acroporae（Acr-14T、Acr-1 和 Acr-5）菌株的高质量（>95% 完整）基因组草图。并对内生单胞菌属进行了比较基因组分析。我们使用 RT-qPCR 和气相色谱 (GC) 鉴定了 DMSP CoA 转移酶/裂合酶（一种 dddD 基因同源物），并在功能上鉴定了能够通过 DddD 裂解途径将 DMSP 代谢为 DMS 的细菌。此外，我们证明卫城大肠杆菌菌株可以使用 DMSP 作为碳源，并具有以类似操纵子的方式排列的基因，将 DMSP 代谢与中央碳循环联系起来。这项研究证实了内生单胞菌在珊瑚硫循环中的作用。