Stream biofilms are key component of stream food webs and contain bacteria that contribute to the carbon and nitrogen cycles. A slow-growing bacterium isolated from a freshwater stream biofilm has potential bioenergy and bioremediation applications. JOSHI_001 is part of a class of bacteria that deposit iron and manganese precipitates externally to the colony early in its life cycle and could be used for fuel cells and to help clean up manganese contaminated water. Members of the Siderocapsaceae family to which JOSHI_001 belongs have been observed in biofilms for the past century, but have never before been isolated and cultivated in a laboratory environment. As a result, researchers have not been able to learn about the lifecycles of the bacteria and their roles in the stream ecosystem.
As the first member of the Siderocapsaceae family to be reliably cultivated and to be sequenced, the genome information collected on the JOSHI_001 bacterium will also enrich the DOE JGI’s Genome Encyclopedia of Bacteria and Archaea project.
Principal Investigators: Gillian Lewis, University of Auckland
Program: CSP 2010