Pirellula staleyi DSM 6068

Pirellula staleyi (strain ATCC 27377 / DSM 6068 / ICPB 4128) is a strictly aerobic, heterotrophic Gram-negative bacterium isolated from the freshwater Lake Lansing, MI, USA. It is found in the fresh and brackish water, as well as in the hypersaline lakes. The mature cell shape is teardrop- to pear-shaped, with the attachment pole slightly pointed. Crateriform structures are predominantly on the reproductive cell pole only. Occasionally, small crateriform structures may also be observed on the non-reproductive and nonpiliated pole of the cell opposite the budding site. The position of the monotrichous flagellum is at the reproductive cell pole. P. staleyi produces pigmented colonies and motile daughter and sessile mother cells. P. staleyi is free-living, but is also attached to filamentous algae and cyanobacteria by a holdfast located at the distal end of the fascicle (the multifibrillar major appendage) or at the nonreproductive (nonbudding and non-piliated) pole of the cell, if a fascicle is not present. A unique feature seen in P.staleyi is the occurrence of 'hump' protrusions including both cell wall and cytoplasm. These protrude are 200 nm in diameter measured at the base of the structure. One or two are visible per cell, and when two are visible these are distributed in a characteristic manner opposite to each other in the cell near the narrow pole. They appear to conform to the definition of prosthecae as cellular appendages or extensions of the cell containing cytoplasm. The functions proposed for the prosthecae include increasing surface area, reproduction, and stalk function. The cell envelope of strain P. staleyi contains no peptidoglycan but consists almost entirely of protein. P. staleyi hydrolyses casein, aesculin, gelatin and starch, but not DNA. It produces H2S from thiosulfate, and utilizes fucose, pectin, lactose, maltosemelibiose, raffinose, sucrose, and trehalose as carbon source, but not glycerol, glutamic acid, or chondroitin sulphate. It is resistant to ampicillin and penicillin (1000 ug ml-1), cephalothin (100 ug ml-1), streptomycin (500 ug ml-1) and cycloserine (100 ug ml-1), but not to tetracycline (10 ug ml-1 is lethal). (Adapted from http://standardsingenomics.org/index.php/sigen/article/view/sigs.68923/174). (EBI Integr8)