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The Family Opitutaceae

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The Prokaryotes

Abstract

The family Opitutaceae, within the phylum Verrucomicrobia, is currently comprised of isolated microbial members of three different genera: Opitutus, Alterococcus, and Diplosphaera. This grouping is solely based on the phylogenetic analysis of their 16S rRNA gene sequences. Culture-independent studies indicate that family members can be found in freshwater and marine environments, hot springs, soils, and termite hindguts. All isolates are Gram negative and characterized for their coccus shape, cell size varying between 0.4 and 0.9 μm, and colorless or white colony formation on agar plates. Successful isolation has been associated with use of moderately recalcitrant heteropolysaccharides such as xylan and pectin. Sequenced genomes of four isolates revealed an average G + C content of 63.1 mol % and genome sizes ranging from 5.22 to 7.41 Mb. The ecological contributions of this family to different ecosystems remain to be understood.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Texas, Arlington, TX, 76019, USA

    Jorge L. M. Rodrigues & Jantiya Isanapong

Authors
  1. Jorge L. M. Rodrigues
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  2. Jantiya Isanapong
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jorge L. M. Rodrigues .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Biotechnology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Eugene Rosenberg

  2. Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  3. Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education, University of Hawaii, Manoa, Honolulu, HI, USA

    Edward F. DeLong

  4. Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Stephen Lory

  5. Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, Braunschweig, Germany

    Erko Stackebrandt

  6. Laboratory of Microbiology, Institute of Biology, Center for Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Ilha do Fundão, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    Fabiano Thompson

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Rodrigues, J.L.M., Isanapong, J. (2014). The Family Opitutaceae . In: Rosenberg, E., DeLong, E.F., Lory, S., Stackebrandt, E., Thompson, F. (eds) The Prokaryotes. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-38954-2_147

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