Shewanella baltica OS195

Shewanella are facultatively anaerobic, Gram-negative bacteria, motile by polar flagella, rod-like, and generally associated with aquatic or marine environments. They are capable of using a variety of compounds as electron acceptors, including oxygen, iron, manganese, uranium, nitrate, nitrite, fumarate, to name but a few. This ability makes Shewanella important for bioremediation of contaminated metals and radioactive wastes. The genus Shewanella comprises 36 recognized and hundreds of uncharacterized cultivable species. OS195 was isolated in August 1986 from deep water of the Gotland Deep, a 240m deep anoxic basin in the Baltic Sea. It forms part of a large scale collection and study on Shewanella -isolates from the water column of the central Baltic Sea. In this study it was shown that Shewanella baltica had an increased abundance in the low oxic water and at the oxic-anoxic interface. It is fast growing and easy to be cultivated and shows a fast onset of growth even after prolonged periods of starvation. It also shows good growth at low organic carbon concentration. OS195 is a potential candidate to be used for bioremediation of sites contaminated with organic pollutants, heavy metals and for energy production in fuel cells. The genome-sequenced S. baltica strains form part of different clones according to RAPD analysis that fits well with the physiological features, a coincidence that was interpreted as different niches occupied by the different clones. OS195 formed part of the largest clone (clone "A") that was present in the Baltic Sea in two subsequent years (only 6 out of 13 clones were present over two years). Clone A is a versatile clone with respect to the use of electron acceptors and electron donors. Besides their potential use for biotechnological applications, the comparative genome analysis is targeted at a better understanding of the biogeochemical potential and the specific ecological niches of the different S. baltica - clones in the low oxic/anoxic water of the central Baltic Sea. (HAMAP: SHEB9)