Hemoplasma infections are emerging and wild fauna can represent an important reservoir of these pathogens. However, there are very few epidemiological studies about the occurrence of hemoplasmas in wild cats around the world. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) evaluate the occurrence and phylogeny of hemoplasmas in captive wild felines at a zoo in the state of Paraná, Brazil, and (2) verify the correlation between subpopulations of these bacteria and the hematological and biochemical parameters of the animals. PCR was used to detect hemoplasmas in the blood of three cougars (Puma concolor), a jaguar (Panthera onca), a tiger (Panthera tigris) and a lion (Panthera leo), followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The cougars and jaguar were found to be hemoplasma-positive by PCR. The phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences enabled the identification of genotypes of ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ circulating in this zoo. The identified sequences were closely related to hemoplasma sequences originating from domestic cats and other wild cats, but the infected cougars and jaguar were healthy and showed no hematological or biochemical changes. It was concluded that P. concolor and P. onca are exposed to ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ in Paraná, but further research is suggested to assess the resistance of wild cats to different hemoplasma subpopulations.
Hemoplasma infections are emerging and wild fauna can represent an important reservoir of these pathogens. However, there are very few epidemiological studies about the occurrence of hemoplasmas in wild cats around the world. The purpose of this study is twofold: (1) evaluate the occurrence and phylogeny of hemoplasmas in captive wild felines at a zoo in the state of Paraná, Brazil, and (2) verify the correlation between subpopulations of these bacteria and the hematological and biochemical parameters of the animals. PCR was used to detect hemoplasmas in the blood of three cougars (Puma concolor), a jaguar (Panthera onca), a tiger (Panthera tigris) and a lion (Panthera leo), followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The cougars and jaguar were found to be hemoplasma-positive by PCR. The phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences enabled the identification of genotypes of ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ circulating in this zoo. The identified sequences were closely related to hemoplasma sequences originating from domestic cats and other wild cats, but the infected cougars and jaguar were healthy and showed no hematological or biochemical changes. It was concluded that P. concolor and P. onca are exposed to ‘Candidatus Mycoplasma haemominutum’ in Paraná, but further research is suggested to assess the resistance of wild cats to different hemoplasma subpopulations.
It is generally accepted that diverse, poorly characterized microorganisms reside deep within Earth’s crust. One such lineage of deep subsurface-dwelling bacteria is an uncultivated member of the Firmicutes phylum that can dominate molecular surveys from both marine and continental rock fracture fluids, sometimes forming the sole member of a single-species microbiome. Here, we reconstructed a genome from basalt-hosted fluids of the deep subseafloor along the eastern Juan de Fuca Ridge flank and used a phylogenomic analysis to show that, despite vast differences in geographic origin and habitat, it forms a monophyletic clade with the terrestrial deep subsurface genome of “Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator” MP104C. While a limited number of differences were observed between the marine genome of “Candidatus Desulfopertinax cowenii” modA32 and its terrestrial relative that may be of potential adaptive importance, here it is revealed that the two are remarkably similar thermophiles possessing the genetic capacity for motility, sporulation, hydrogenotrophy, chemoorganotrophy, dissimilatory sulfate reduction, and the ability to fix inorganic carbon via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway for chemoautotrophic growth. Our results provide insights into the genetic repertoire within marine and terrestrial members of a bacterial lineage that is widespread in the global deep subsurface biosphere, and provides a natural means to investigate adaptations specific to these two environments.
Synechococcusis among the most important contributors to global primary productivity. The genomes of several strains of this taxon have been previously sequenced in an effort to understand the physiology and ecology of these highly diverse microorganisms. Here we present a comparative study ofSynechococcusgenomes. For that end, we developed GenTaxo, a program written in Perl to perform genomic taxonomy based on average nucleotide identity, average amino acid identity and dinucleotide signatures, which revealed that the analyzed strains are drastically distinct regarding their genomic content. Phylogenomic reconstruction indicated a division ofSynechococcusin two clades (i.e. Synechococcus and the new genus Parasynechococcus), corroborating evidences that this is in fact a polyphyletic group. By clustering protein encoding genes into homologue groups we were able to trace the Pangenome and core genome of both marine and freshwaterSynechococcusand determine the genotypic traits that differentiate these lineages.