Celebration of Scholars
P57 - CAZyme presence in novel hindgut bacterium Rikenellaceae Isolate 38
Name:
Lin Sensenbrenner
Major: Neuroscience and Psychology
Hometown: Sun Prairie
Faculty Sponsor: Emily Wollmuth
Other Sponsors:
Type of research: Independent research
Funding: NA
Abstract
This study analyzes the presence of carbohydrate active enzymes (CAZymes) in a novel Rikenellaceae (Isolate 38). Isolate 38 is a bacterium isolated from the hindgut of a herbivorous fish called Kyphosus sydneyanus. The entire genome of Isolate 38 was sequenced for genomic analysis. Hindgut microbial communities are especially important in herbivorous hosts as they can digest plant components that are resistant to the host's enzymes. Diverse CAZymes allow microbes to break down complex carbohydrates in their environment. Kyphosus sydneyanus has been found to only produce amylases leaving many polysaccharides intact as they enter the hindgut. It is there that microbial fermentation, mainly by phyla Bacteroidota and Bacillota, continues the metabolic pathway.
The goal of this study is to place Isolate 38 within a genus and determine how it’s metabolically unique in its use of CAZymes. Using comparative genomic analytical methods, we will explore the phylogenetic placement of Isolate 38. GTDB-Tk was used to find Rikenellaceae closely related to the isolate of study. This was combined with NCBI’s reference Rikenellaceae to form a dataset of genomes. These genomes will be run together through GTDB-Tk to recover a phylogenetic tree. We used dbCAN to identify the presence of CAZymes within each organism and calculated AAI and POCP to identify conservation of proteins and amino acids throughout these related bacterium.
Preliminary analyses have revealed the unique presence of CAZyme GH86 and GH150 in the reference data set. GH150 is a l-carrageenan endo-b-1,4-(2-sulfo)-galactosidase which is likely involved in breaking down the carrageenan in seaweed. This is significant when looking at Isolate 38’s environment in the hindgut of seaweed-eating fish. Additionally, this sheds light on the possible evolutionary specialization of this bacterium to break down complex carbohydrates in a unique environment.
Submit date: March 17, 2025, 9:21 p.m.