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Updated: Jul 10, 2026
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Adaptation at the Extremes of Life: Experimental Evolution with the Extremophile Archaeon Sulfolobus acidocaldarius
Published on: June 14, 2024
A deep-sea rare bacterium exhibits extraordinary metabolic versatility
Zhimeng Li1, Baihui Chi2, Chujin Ruan3
1Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China; State Key Laboratory of Microbial Diversity and Innovative Utilization, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; Shantou City Key Laboratory of Marine microbial Resources and Interactions with Environment, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, China.
Cell Reports
|July 8, 2026
Summary
Scientists cultured a rare deep-sea bacterium, Metabolovarius oceani, revealing its versatile metabolism. This finding offers insights into the function and adaptation of elusive microbes in the rare biosphere.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Marine Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- The rare biosphere contains diverse, yet uncultured, low-abundance microbes.
- Most rare taxa are functionally enigmatic, limiting understanding of microbial dark matter.
Purpose of the Study:
- To isolate and characterize a novel species from the rare biosphere.
- To investigate the metabolic capabilities and ecological role of a globally distributed alphaproteobacterial lineage.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and cultivation of strain D14T from deep-sea water.
- Genomic and metabolic analyses of the novel isolate.
- Comparative analysis with related metagenome-assembled genomes.
Main Results:
- Successfully isolated and classified Metabolovarius oceani sp. nov. and Metabolovariaceae fam. nov.
- M. oceani exhibits broad metabolic pathways including CO2 fixation, denitrification, and thiosulfate oxidation.
- The novel species can grow aerobically (heterotrophic/autotrophic) and anaerobically (autotrophic denitrification).
Conclusions:
- M. oceani is the first cultivated member of the elusive NORP267 lineage.
- Despite versatile metabolism and global distribution, Metabolovariaceae remain rare, suggesting unique ecological strategies.
- Cultivation enables direct study of rare microbial adaptations and ecosystem functions.
Keywords:
CP: microbiologyMetabolovariaceaedeep-seametabolically versatilerare microbesingle-cell cultureMore Related Videos
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