Ines Friedrich (Göttingen / DE), Dennis Binder (Göttingen / DE), Jacqueline Hollensteiner (Göttingen / DE), Rolf Daniel (Göttingen / DE)
The Comamonadaceae family stands as a captivating focus of study due to its diverse array of bacterial species and their ecological significance. Comprising genera such as Variovorax, Acidovorax, Comamonas, and Delftia, this family is known for thriving in various environments, including eutrophic ponds and reed surface water.
This study unveils that strain DAIF25 is a novel species within the Variovorax genus, along with the isolation and characterization of Acidovorax, Comamonas, and Delftia species. These strains were isolated from a eutrophic pond and reed surface water in Göttingen (Germany) and thoroughly examined morphologically and physiologically. Through 16S rRNA sequencing DB30, DB31, and DB46 were identified as members of Delftia, DB36 as Acidovorax, and DB45 as Comamonas, whereas DAIF25 was characterized by whole genome sequencing.
This study reveals three spontaneously inducible prophages in the genome of DAIF25 and investigates the host range of these phages by demonstrating their ability to infect a variety of strains of the Comamonadaceae family using the overlay plaque assay. In summary, this research contributes to our understanding of Variovorax and the Comamonadaceae family, shedding light on their unique characteristics and associated phages.