Microbial Observatories: Evolution and Diversity of Biochemical Pathways: A Methylotrophic Microbial Observatory

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A grant has been awarded to Drs. Mary Lidstrom and Ludmila Chistoserdova at the University of Washington to investigate the breadth of diversity in an environmentally important group of bacteria, those that grow on simple compounds containing one carbon. These bacteria, called methylotrophs, have developed unique biochemical pathways that allow them to grow on compounds such as methane (natural gas), methanol (wood alcohol), and a variety of atmospheric pollutants such as bromomethane and chloromethane. Evidence to date suggests that these biochemical pathways evolved through a combination of borrowing genes from other bacteria and creating new traits specific to methylotrophy. The approach that will be taken in this project is to use the few known genome sequences for methylotrophic bacteria and other bacteria in a comparative way to develop an understanding of the shared and unique aspects of these bacteria. Both laboratory cultures and natural populations of methylotrophs from the environment will be studied, to maximize the diversity that is sampled, and partial genomes from uncultured environmental methylotrophs will be identified and sequenced. This work will provide insights into the complex communities in natural habitats that are responsible for the cycling of one-carbon compounds. These bacteria play an important role in keeping natural habitats healthy and thriving, and in addition they are the main consumers on earth of a number of compounds that contribute to global warming. Understanding which methylotrophs are present in specific environments and relating such information to their natural roles is an important step in developing accurate predictions regarding the relationship between natural resource utilization and global conditions such as global warming. In addition, the comparative genomics studies that will be carried out will provide insights into the evolution of specialized metabolic pathways. These evolutionary approaches are important for making the leap from genome sequences to understanding how cells work.