Interactions within Nitrotoga and heterotrophic bacteria

Microorganisms in ecosystems exist as members of complex communities of interacting each other. Investigation of the microbial interactions is essential to understand their ecophysiological traits. In this study, we focused on the effects of heterotrophic bacterium Acidovorax sp. NB1 on the physiology and transcriptome of nitrite oxidizing bacterium Nitrotoga sp. AM1P. In the co-culture of AM1P and NB1, nitrite oxidation of AM1P started earlier than in the axenic culture of AM1P. Moreover, growth yield of AM1P increased in the presence of NB1. RNA-seq suggested that nitrogen compounds were recycled between AM1P and NB1 in the co-culture.