Fuerstia marisgermanicae gen. nov., sp. nov., an Unusual Member of the Phylum Planctomycetes from the German Wadden Sea

Researchers have identified Fuerstia marisgermanicae, a novel genus and species of planctomycete bacteria, isolated from a crustacean shell in the German Wadden Sea. This discovery is significant as it represents an unusual member of the Planctomycetes phylum, exhibiting unique traits such as budding-like cell division and an enlarged periplasmic space. The strain NH11T, with its nearly 9 Mb genome, stands out for harboring 'giant genes'—a feature common in planctomycetes but rarely studied. Phylogenetic analysis confirms its distinctness from other cultivated species, with only 87% 16S rRNA sequence identity to its closest relative, Gimesia maris. The study highlights the Wadden Sea's ecological significance as a source of genetically diverse and unexplored microbial life, contributing to our understanding of planctomycetal diversity and their role in global biogeochemical cycles.

Kohn, T., Heuer, A., Jogler, M., Vollmers, J., Boedeker, C., Bunk, B., Rast, P., Borchert, D., Glöckner, I., Freese, H. M., Klenk, H.-P., Overmann, J., Kaster, A.-K., Rohde, M., Wiegand, S., & Jogler, C. (2016). Fuerstia marisgermanicae gen. nov., sp. nov., an Unusual Member of the Phylum Planctomycetes from the German Wadden Sea. Frontiers in Microbiology, 7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2016.02079