Plant and material from the Atacama

POWO accepts Maihueniopsis domeykoensis as a succulent subshrub native to Chile's Atacama region. The older combination Opuntia domeykoensis is its synonym. Seeds used in the microbiological studies came from the Domeyko area between La Serena and Vallenar. [2-WWW] [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023] [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]

Before bacteria were isolated, the seed surface was disinfected. The seeds were then ground and the resulting material transferred to a culture medium. Isolates were propagated and purified in separate cultures. This approach allows bacteria originating inside the seed to be studied without equating them with the entire microbial community on the plant surface. [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023] [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]

Dwa poznane genomy

For Arthrobacter sp. ATA002, a circular sequence of 3 904 590 base pairs with a GC content of 65.9% was obtained. The sequence was deposited in GenBank under accession CP114015. Relationship analysis identified the isolate at genus level without assigning it the name of a particular known species. [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023]

The isolate Cellulomonas sp. ATA003 was described in 2024. Its assembled circular sequence comprised 4 084 881 base pairs, with 73.8% GC. Both papers used long Nanopore reads and bioinformatic assessment of the assembly. The term “circular genome” refers to the sequence assembly result, and completeness was also assessed using separate marker sets. [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]

Biological significance

A seed may carry its own microbial inhabitants into the environment of the germinating plant. For these isolates, published findings cover isolation, culture and genome analysis. Demonstrating effects on germination, drought resistance or growth of M. domeykoensis requires plant experiments with a control lacking the strain concerned. [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023] [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]

The mechanism and significance of the genomic studies are described in the article on bacteria inside seeds. [Oses Pedraza et al. 2023] [Bartholomäus et al. 2024]

Synonyms and names in the literature

Opuntia domeykoensis [2-WWW]