Favorite Aquatic Microbe

Flavobacterium Psychrophilum

Ino de Bruijn / @inodb

Find my favorite microbe

Flavobacterium Psychrophilum

Flavobacterium Psychrophilum

• Name means small yellow cold-loving rod

Phylogeny

• Bacteria; Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi group; Bacteroidetes; Flavobacteria; Flavobacteriales; Flavobacteriaceae

Genome

• virulent strain JIP02/86 (ATCC 49511)
• 2,861,988 bp circular chromosome
• Small compared to environmental genomes in same family

Duchaud et al (2007)

Physiology

• gram-negative bacterium
• causes bacterial cold water disease (adult fish)
• causes rainbow trout fry syndrome (young fish)
• proteolytic, collagenolytic
• biofilm-forming to allow long life without host

Habitat

• aerobic, can handle oxidative stress (ROS Reactive oxygen species)
• psychrotrophic (15 °C optimum)
• water, sediments, biofilms from infected fish farms
• presence in salmonid eggs, vertical transmission
• gliding motility genes

Ecology

• specialist
• co-occuring with salmonid fish

Questions?