A defined anaerobic three-member coculture in which fermentative Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5 stimulates the syntrophic butyrate-oxidizing partnership between Syntrophomonas wolfei and Methanospirillum hungatei. The system extends the classic two-member fatty-acid syntrophy model by adding a fermentative bacterium that increases butyrate consumption and methane production and aggregates with the syntrophic partners. It is relevant to DOE anaerobic carbon cycling, wastewater treatment bioreactors, and engineered methanogenic consortia.
Taxonomy
| Taxon | Ontology ID | Functional Roles | Abundance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5 — ontology label: Trichococcus flocculiformis | NCBITaxon:82803 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
SECONDARY_FERMENTER
CROSS_FEEDER
|
N/A |
|
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| Syntrophomonas wolfei | NCBITaxon:863 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
PRIMARY_DEGRADER
SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
|
N/A |
|
|||
| Methanospirillum hungatei | NCBITaxon:2203 · TaxonMech · TraitMech |
SYNTROPHIC_PARTNER
CROSS_FEEDER
|
N/A |
|
|||
Ecological Interactions
The graph shows only explicitly linked interaction participants. Community members without an asserted participant link are omitted; membership alone does not imply an interaction.
Fermenter-Stimulated Butyrate Oxidation and Methane Production
Adding T. flocculiformis ES5 stimulated the S. wolfei-M. hungatei culture, most clearly by shortening the lag before conversion. In the exact-pair comparison, Table 1 marks the methane lag difference significant, not the fitted maximum production-rate or final-concentration differences. The Discussion reports similar butyrate-consumption slopes with and without ES5. Abstract-wide 120%/150% wording is not an exact-triculture increase estimate. This is a three-member outcome, not an ES5-to-S. wolfei syntrophic exchange.
Participating Taxa: Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5, Syntrophomonas wolfei, Methanospirillum hungatei
Metabolites: butyrate (CHEBI:17968 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech), methane (CHEBI:16183 · MediaIngredientMech · CMMMech)
Biological Processes:
- fatty acid beta-oxidation (GO:0006635 · PathwayMech)
- methanogenesis (GO:0015948 · PathwayMech)
Evidence
-
PMID:35699440 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"statistically significant change in the lag phase of the S. wolfei and M. hungatei when cultured with T. flocculiformis ES5."
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PMID:35699440 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"butyrate consumption rates were similar regardless of presence of T. flocculiformis ES5 in the syntroph-methanogen coculture"
Aggregation With Syntrophic Partners
SEM of the exact three-member culture showed ES5 in close spatial association with both syntrophic partners and altered aggregation relative to the biculture. This is a community morphology observation, not an isolated directional colonization benefit or proof of conductive bridging.
Participating Taxa: Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5, Syntrophomonas wolfei, Methanospirillum hungatei
Biological Processes:
- interspecies interaction between organisms (GO:0044419 · PathwayMech)
HYPOTHESIZED/PARTIAL: ES5-associated aggregation could contribute to the shorter conversion lag, but morphology was not selectively manipulated to show mediation. Conductive bridging and DIET remain proposed explanations, not demonstrated routes.
Evidence
-
PMID:35699440 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"very close proximity of T. flocculiformis ES5 cells to the cells of M. hungatei (as well as to the cells of S. wolfei)"
Proteome Response in the Syntrophic Partners
Comparative proteomics of the two syntrophic partners with and without ES5 detected differential protein abundance. Additional S. wolfei butyryl-CoA dehydrogenase and electron-transfer flavoprotein were more abundant in the triculture; many candidate M. hungatei signaling proteins were instead more abundant in the biculture. These observations do not directly measure enzyme activation, prove a signaling mechanism or establish a second syntrophic exchange. ES5 is the added member; the assayed proteomes belong to S. wolfei and M. hungatei.
Participating Taxa: Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5, Syntrophomonas wolfei, Methanospirillum hungatei
Biological Processes:
- fatty acid beta-oxidation (GO:0006635 · PathwayMech)
HYPOTHESIZED/PARTIAL: changes in partner protein abundance may contribute to the shorter lag associated with ES5 addition. The comparison does not selectively establish enzymatic or signaling mediation, and protein abundance is not a direct activity assay.
Evidence
-
PMID:35699440 - SUPPORT (IN_VITRO)"differential proteomics to compare protein expression profiles of the Syntrophomonas wolfei and Methanospirillum hungatei with or without the addition of the fermentative microorganism"
-
PMID:35699440 - PARTIAL (IN_VITRO)"it is not clear whether the presence of T. flocculiformis ES5 alone was activating production of this enzyme."
Associated Datasets
| Dataset | Type | Repository | Accession |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Trichococcus flocculiformis DSM 23957 genome assembly
Genome assembly for T. flocculiformis ES5/DSM 23957, the fermentative strain added to the coculture. |
GENOMICS | OTHER | GCA_900129415 |
|
Trichococcus flocculiformis DSM 23957 IMG genome
JGI IMG genome resource for T. flocculiformis DSM 23957. |
GENOMICS | JGI_IMG | 2619618835 |
Knowledge gaps & discussions (1)
KNOWLEDGE_GAP OPEN Which ES5-associated processes mediate the shorter lag in this exact triculture?
The exact-pair Results and Table 1 support a shorter lag; the Discussion reports similar butyrate-consumption slopes. The former abstract-wide 120%/150% increase attribution is therefore removed from this discussion and graph. Aggregation and differential protein abundance are measured correlates, while causal mediation, conductive bridging and DIET remain unresolved. Both existing explanatory arrows stay hypothetical. No direct enzyme activation or uniformly enhanced methanogen signaling is inferred.
Attaches to: ecological_interactions#Fermenter-Stimulated Butyrate Oxidation and Methane Production, ecological_interactions#Aggregation With Syntrophic Partners, ecological_interactions#Proteome Response in the Syntrophic Partners
1 evidence item(s)
it is not clear whether the presence of T. flocculiformis ES5 alone was activating production of this enzyme.
The source explicitly withholds direct enzyme-activation attribution.
External Resources
| Name | Repository | Resource ID |
|---|---|---|
|
Exact-system primary publication - ES5-stimulated S. wolfei and M. hungatei coculture
Primary publication reporting the T. flocculiformis ES5, S. wolfei, and M. hungatei three-member coculture; no additional exact-composition publication was identified during this curation pass. |
OTHER | PMID:35699440 |
|
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DOI landing page - ES5-stimulated syntrophic coculture
DOI landing page for the exact-system primary publication. |
OTHER | doi:10.1128/aem.00391-22 |
|
NCBI Taxonomy - Trichococcus flocculiformis
NCBI Taxonomy record for Trichococcus flocculiformis. |
OTHER | NCBITaxon:82803 |
|
BacDive strain record - Trichococcus flocculiformis ES5
BacDive record for T. flocculiformis ES5/DSM 23957, including NCBI taxon, culture collection, isolation, and genome links. |
OTHER | BacDive:2286 |
|
NCBI Taxonomy - Syntrophomonas wolfei
NCBI Taxonomy record for Syntrophomonas wolfei. |
OTHER | NCBITaxon:863 |
|
NCBI Taxonomy - Methanospirillum hungatei
NCBI Taxonomy record for Methanospirillum hungatei. |
OTHER | NCBITaxon:2203 |
Environmental Factors
| Factor | Value | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Anoxic anaerobic ecosystem context | anoxic sediments, soils, and wastewater treatment bioreactors | N/A |
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| Fermentative bacterium addition | Trichococcus flocculiformis strain ES5 added | N/A |
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| Butyrate and methane rate response | increased butyrate consumption and methane production | N/A |
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