Gene Transfer Mediation by Virus from Japanese Hot Spring
Hiroshi Xavier CHIURAa*, Kenji KATOb, Akira HIRAISHIc, Hiroyuki YAMAMOTOd, Yonosuke MAKIe, and Akira SHIMIZUf
a Department of Biology, Division of Natural Sciences, International Christian University, 10-2 Osawa 3-Chome, Mitaka, Tokyo 181, Japan
b Laboratory of Biology, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Nagano 390, Japan
c Department of Ecological Engineering, Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi, Aichi 441, Japan
d Department of Microbiology, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki, Kanagawa 216, Japan
e Department of Biology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka, Iwate 020, Japan
f Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Nara Women's University, Nara 630, Japan
Viruses (or virus-like particles; VLPs) of bacteria were frequently found in geothermal hot springs (60 - 80℃) in Japan. We isolated a VLP from sausage-shaped bacteria which were predominate in sulfur-turf microbial mat in hot springs containing hydrogen sulfide. Mature VLPs were found inside of the sulfur-turf bacteria, and up to 106 particles per ml of hot spring water. The VLPs isolated experimentally mediated gene transfer to auxotrophic mutant of E. coli with an average efficiency of 10-6 per VLP particle. The sulphur-turf bacteria belong to the oldest deep branching lineage of domain Bacteria; hyperthermophilic chemolithotrophic bacteria. These suggest that the VLP of sulfur-turf bacteria may be a xenotrophic virus, and mediate a gene flux among bacterial communities of different environments and between phylogenetically distant bacteria.
