Carmen E. Wurzbacher

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

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Christian Jogler

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Nicolai Kallscheuer

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Muriel C. F. van Teeseling

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Tom Haufschild

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Jonathan Hammer

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Moses Kabuu

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Julia Ast

University of Birmingham

Ruth A. Schmitz

Kiel University

Sandra Wiegand

Radboud University Nijmegen

Larsen Vornholz

Technical University of Munich

Cooperative Institutions

Friedrich Schiller University Jena

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Radboud University Nijmegen

Leibniz Institute DSMZ – German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures

John Wiley & Sons (United States)

Hudson Institute

Medizinische Hochschule Hannover

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

Urologische Klinik München

University of Birmingham

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In the footsteps of Heinz Schlesner and Peter Hirsch: Exploring the untapped diversity of the phylum Planctomycetota in isolates from the 1980s to the early 2000s

Systematic and Applied Microbiology (2023)

Nicolai Kallscheuer Carmen E. Wurzbacher Ruth A. Schmitz Christian Jogler

Recent sampling and strain isolation campaigns have accelerated research on the bacterial phylum Planctomycetota. The contribution of more than 100 novel isolates to the open collection of currently 123 described planctomycetal species in the last decade benefited greatly from pioneering work conducted in the second half of the last century. One of those pioneers was Heinz Schlesner, who investigated budding and prosthecate bacteria from habitats world-wide during his time at Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel. An outcome of his research was a strain collection with more than 500 isolates belonging to different bacterial phyla, many of which are uncharacterised members of the phylum Planctomycetota. Due to the lack of affordable genome sequencing techniques at the time of their isolation, most of them were characterised based on phenotypic features and DNA-DNA hybridisation experiments. After the retirement of Heinz Schlesner in 2002, the collection was stored for several years and transferred to Jena in 2019. To get a glimpse on the diversity of members from the phylum Planctomycetota in Schlesner's collection, we here summarised from his records and publications all available information about the collection regarding sampling habitat and phylogeny. Furthermore, we conducted an updated phylogenetic analysis for a representative excerpt of the collection based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence of 59 strains Schlesner deposited in the NCBI database during strain characterisation studies published in the 1980s until the early 2000s. The results support that strains from his collection are still a valuable contribution to expand the cultivated diversity of the understudied phylum Planctomycetota.

Bacterial phyla

Isolation

10.1016/j.syapm.2023.126486

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Citations (3)

“ Candidatus Uabimicrobium helgolandensis”—a planctomycetal bacterium with phagocytosis-like prey cell engulfment, surface-dependent motility, and cell division

mBio (2024)

Carmen E. Wurzbacher Jonathan Hammer Tom Haufschild Sandra Wiegand Nicolai Kallscheuer

The unique cell biology presented by members of the phylum

10.1128/mbio.02044-24

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Citations (1)

An unexpected puzzle piece links polarity and chromosome segregation

Developmental Cell (2021)

Carmen E. Wurzbacher Muriel C. F. van Teeseling

Caulobacter crescentus

Polarity (international relations)

10.1016/j.devcel.2021.07.008

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Journal Club

BIOspektrum (2021)

Larsen Vornholz Johannes Sander Sabine Keuter Kirsten Küsel Julia Ast

Human genetics

10.1007/s12268-021-1651-z

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A type III polyketide synthase cluster in the phylum Planctomycetota is involved in alkylresorcinol biosynthesis

Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology (2024)

Lars Milke Moses Kabuu Renè Zschoche Jochem Gätgens Karin Krumbach

Abstract Members of the bacterial phylum Planctomycetota have recently emerged as promising and for the most part untapped sources of novel bioactive compounds. The characterization of more than 100 novel species in the last decade stimulated recent bioprospection studies that start to unveil the chemical repertoire of the phylum. In this study, we performed systematic bioinformatic analyses based on the genomes of all 131 described members of the current phylum focusing on the identification of type III polyketide synthase (PKS) genes. Type III PKSs are versatile enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of a wide array of structurally diverse natural products with potent biological activities. We identified 96 putative type III PKS genes of which 58 are encoded in an operon with genes encoding a putative oxidoreductase and a methyltransferase. Sequence similarities on protein level and the genetic organization of the operon point towards a functional link to the structurally related hierridins recently discovered in picocyanobacteria. The heterologous expression of planctomycetal type III PKS genes from strains belonging to different families in an engineered Corynebacterium glutamicum strain led to the biosynthesis of pentadecyl- and heptadecylresorcinols. Phenotypic assays performed with the heterologous producer strains and a constructed type III PKS gene deletion mutant suggest that the natural function of the identified compounds differs from that confirmed in other bacterial alkylresorcinol producers. Key points • Planctomycetal type III polyketide synthases synthesize long-chain alkylresorcinols. • Phylogenetic analyses suggest an ecological link to picocyanobacterial hierridins. • Engineered C. glutamicum is suitable for an expression of planctomycete-derived genes.

Polyketide synthase

Corynebacterium glutamicum

Gene cluster

Heterologous expression

Streptomyces albus

10.1007/s00253-024-13065-x

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Planctoellipticum variicoloris gen. nov., sp. nov., a novel member of the family Planctomycetaceae isolated from wastewater of the aeration lagoon of a sugar processing plant in Northern Germany

Scientific Reports (2024)

Carmen E. Wurzbacher Tom Haufschild Jonathan Hammer Muriel C. F. van Teeseling Nicolai Kallscheuer

Abstract In the present study, we characterise a strain isolated from the wastewater aeration lagoon of a sugar processing plant in Schleswig (Northern Germany) by Heinz Schlesner. As a pioneer in planctomycetal research, he isolated numerous strains belonging to the phylum Planctomycetota from aquatic habitats around the world. Phylogenetic analyses show that strain SH412 T belongs to the family Planctomycetaceae and shares with 91.6% the highest 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with Planctopirus limnophila DSM 3776 T . Its genome has a length of 7.3 Mb and a G + C content of 63.6%. Optimal growth of strain SH412 T occurs at pH 7.0–7.5 and 28 °C with its pigmentation depending on sunlight exposure. Strain SH412 T reproduces by polar asymmetric division (“budding”) and forms ovoid cells. The cell size determination was performed using a semi-automatic pipeline, which we first evaluated with the model species P. limnophila and then applied to strain SH412 T . Furthermore, the data acquired during time-lapse analyses suggests a lifestyle switch from flagellated daughter cells to non-flagellated mother cells in the subsequent cycle. Based on our data, we suggest that strain SH412 T represents a novel species within a novel genus, for which we propose the name Planctoellipticum variicoloris gen. nov., sp. nov., with strain SH412 T (= CECT 30430 T = STH00996 T , the STH number refers to the Jena Microbial Resource Collection JMRC) as the type strain of the new species.

Strain (injury)

Sponge

10.1038/s41598-024-56373-y

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Citations (3)