The genus Pseudovibrio contains metabolically versatile bacteria adapted for symbiosis

The majority of strains belonging to the genus Pseudovibrio have been isolated from marine invertebrates such as tunicates, corals and particularly sponges, but the physiology of these bacteria is poorly understood. In this study, we analyse for the first time the genomes of two Pseudovibrio strains – FO-BEG1 and JE062. The strain FO-BEG1 is a required symbiont of a cultivated Beggiatoa strain, a sulfide-oxidizing, autotrophic bacterium, which was initially isolated from a coral. Strain JE062 was isolated from a sponge. The presented data show that both strains are generalistic bacteria capable of importing and oxidizing a wide range of organic and inorganic compounds to meet their carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and energy requirements under both, oxic and anoxic conditions. Several physiological traits encoded in the analysed genomes were verified in laboratory experiments with both isolates. Besides the versatile metabolic abilities of both Pseudovibrio strains, our study reveals a number of open reading frames and gene clusters in the genomes that seem to be involved in symbiont–host interactions. Both Pseudovibrio strains have the genomic potential to attach to host cells, interact with the eukaryotic cell machinery, produce secondary metabolites and supply the host with cofactors.