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Isolation and characterization of oxalotrophic bacteria from tropical soils

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Abstract

The oxalate–carbonate pathway (OCP) is a biogeochemical set of reactions that involves the conversion of atmospheric CO2 fixed by plants into biomass and, after the biological recycling of calcium oxalate by fungi and bacteria, into calcium carbonate in terrestrial environments. Oxalotrophic bacteria are a key element of this process because of their ability to oxidize calcium oxalate. However, the diversity and alternative carbon sources of oxalotrophs participating to this pathway are unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize oxalotrophic bacteria in tropical OCP systems from Bolivia, India, and Cameroon. Ninety-five oxalotrophic strains were isolated and identified by sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Four genera corresponded to newly reported oxalotrophs (Afipia, Polaromonas, Humihabitans, and Psychrobacillus). Ten strains were selected to perform a more detailed characterization. Kinetic curves and microcalorimetry analyses showed that Variovorax soli C18 has the highest oxalate consumption rate with 0.240 µM h−1. Moreover, Streptomyces achromogenes A9 displays the highest metabolic plasticity. This study highlights the phylogenetic and physiological diversity of oxalotrophic bacteria in tropical soils under the influence of the oxalate–carbonate pathway.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Martin Clerc, Sabrina de los Rios, and N. Jeanneret (Université de Neuchâtel) for their help during the work. We would like to thank Cooperativa El Paraíso and the NGO “Racines” (Geneva, CH) who helped us studying in Bolivia, the Forest Service Office of Madhya Pradesh State and Pantnagar University in India, as well as Dr. Neree Onguene Awana and IRAD Yaoundé for their help during field campaign in Cameroon. This research was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation through Grants K-23k1-118130/1 and CR22I2-137994, and the EU-FP7 project CO2SolStock, Grant Agreement No. 226306.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to publish this manuscript. None commercial party is related directly or indirectly to the subject of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Daniel Bravo & Pilar Junier

  2. Biomechanics & Calorimetry Center Basel, Biozentrum/Pharmazentrum University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Olivier Braissant

  3. Biogeoscience Laboratory, Institute of Earth Surface Dynamics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Guillaume Cailleau & Eric Verrecchia

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  1. Daniel Bravo
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Correspondence to Pilar Junier.

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Communicated by Jörg Overmann.

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Bravo, D., Braissant, O., Cailleau, G. et al. Isolation and characterization of oxalotrophic bacteria from tropical soils. Arch Microbiol 197, 65–77 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-014-1055-2

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