Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms

ABSTRACT Teredinibacter turnerae is a cultivable cellulolytic Gammaproteobacterium (Cellvibrionaceae) that commonly occurs as an intracellular endosymbiont in the gills of wood‐eating bivalves of the family Teredinidae (shipworms). The genome of T. turnerae encodes a broad range of enzymes that deco...

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Main Authors: Mark T. Gasser, Annie Liu, Marvin A. Altamia, Bryan R. Brensinger, Sarah L. Brewer, Ron Flatau, Eric R. Hancock, Sarah P. Preheim, Claire Marie Filone, Daniel L. Distel
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2024-12-01
Series:Microbial Biotechnology
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70064
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author Mark T. Gasser
Annie Liu
Marvin A. Altamia
Bryan R. Brensinger
Sarah L. Brewer
Ron Flatau
Eric R. Hancock
Sarah P. Preheim
Claire Marie Filone
Daniel L. Distel
author_facet Mark T. Gasser
Annie Liu
Marvin A. Altamia
Bryan R. Brensinger
Sarah L. Brewer
Ron Flatau
Eric R. Hancock
Sarah P. Preheim
Claire Marie Filone
Daniel L. Distel
author_sort Mark T. Gasser
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT Teredinibacter turnerae is a cultivable cellulolytic Gammaproteobacterium (Cellvibrionaceae) that commonly occurs as an intracellular endosymbiont in the gills of wood‐eating bivalves of the family Teredinidae (shipworms). The genome of T. turnerae encodes a broad range of enzymes that deconstruct cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin and contribute to wood (lignocellulose) digestion in the shipworm gut. However, the mechanisms by which T. turnerae secretes lignocellulolytic enzymes are incompletely understood. Here, we show that T. turnerae cultures grown on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) produce membrane vesicles (MVs) that include a variety of proteins identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) as carbohydrate‐active enzymes (CAZymes) with predicted activities against cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Reducing sugar assays and zymography confirm that these MVs exhibit cellulolytic activity, as evidenced by the hydrolysis of CMC. Additionally, these MVs were enriched with TonB‐dependent receptors, which are essential to carbohydrate and iron acquisition by free‐living bacteria. These observations indicate a potential role for MVs in lignocellulose utilisation by T. turnerae in the free‐living state, suggest possible mechanisms for host–symbiont interaction and may be informative for commercial applications such as enzyme production and lignocellulosic biomass conversion.
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spelling doaj-art-4e54a83dc9f245c0b0ff1acd8395bd6a2025-08-20T02:55:46ZengWileyMicrobial Biotechnology1751-79152024-12-011712n/an/a10.1111/1751-7915.70064Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of ShipwormsMark T. Gasser0Annie Liu1Marvin A. Altamia2Bryan R. Brensinger3Sarah L. Brewer4Ron Flatau5Eric R. Hancock6Sarah P. Preheim7Claire Marie Filone8Daniel L. Distel9Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAOcean Genome Legacy Center Northeastern University Nahant Massachusetts USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAOcean Genome Legacy Center Northeastern University Nahant Massachusetts USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAJohns Hopkins University Baltimore Maryland USAJohns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory Laurel Maryland USAOcean Genome Legacy Center Northeastern University Nahant Massachusetts USAABSTRACT Teredinibacter turnerae is a cultivable cellulolytic Gammaproteobacterium (Cellvibrionaceae) that commonly occurs as an intracellular endosymbiont in the gills of wood‐eating bivalves of the family Teredinidae (shipworms). The genome of T. turnerae encodes a broad range of enzymes that deconstruct cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin and contribute to wood (lignocellulose) digestion in the shipworm gut. However, the mechanisms by which T. turnerae secretes lignocellulolytic enzymes are incompletely understood. Here, we show that T. turnerae cultures grown on carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) produce membrane vesicles (MVs) that include a variety of proteins identified by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS) as carbohydrate‐active enzymes (CAZymes) with predicted activities against cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Reducing sugar assays and zymography confirm that these MVs exhibit cellulolytic activity, as evidenced by the hydrolysis of CMC. Additionally, these MVs were enriched with TonB‐dependent receptors, which are essential to carbohydrate and iron acquisition by free‐living bacteria. These observations indicate a potential role for MVs in lignocellulose utilisation by T. turnerae in the free‐living state, suggest possible mechanisms for host–symbiont interaction and may be informative for commercial applications such as enzyme production and lignocellulosic biomass conversion.https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70064carbohydrate‐active enzymesCAZymeslignocellulose degradationOMVsouter membrane vesiclessymbiosis
spellingShingle Mark T. Gasser
Annie Liu
Marvin A. Altamia
Bryan R. Brensinger
Sarah L. Brewer
Ron Flatau
Eric R. Hancock
Sarah P. Preheim
Claire Marie Filone
Daniel L. Distel
Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
Microbial Biotechnology
carbohydrate‐active enzymes
CAZymes
lignocellulose degradation
OMVs
outer membrane vesicles
symbiosis
title Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
title_full Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
title_fullStr Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
title_full_unstemmed Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
title_short Membrane Vesicles Can Contribute to Cellulose Degradation by Teredinibacter turnerae, a Cultivable Intracellular Endosymbiont of Shipworms
title_sort membrane vesicles can contribute to cellulose degradation by teredinibacter turnerae a cultivable intracellular endosymbiont of shipworms
topic carbohydrate‐active enzymes
CAZymes
lignocellulose degradation
OMVs
outer membrane vesicles
symbiosis
url https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.70064
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