#planctomycetota

[bacteriashowdown]

Bacteroidota vs. Planctomycetota

Bacteroidota propaganda here

Planctomycetota propaganda here

Bacteroidota vs. Planctomycetota

Bacteroidota

Planctomycetota

Voting ended onMar 8, 2024

[bacteriashowdown]

Planctomycetota

Group: Hydrobacteria; PVC Group

Gram-stain: Negative

Etymology: For Planctomyces bekefii. From the Greek "planktos", meaning wandering or floating, and "myketes", meaning fungus. P. bekefii are freshwater plankton, and the "mykes" is due to an initial misconception that the bacteria were fungi.

About: Planctomycetota is a phylum of distinctive structure. They lack peptidoglycan in their cell walls, and species such as Gemmata obscuriglobus have inner membranes that form compartments within the cell. These compartments create relatively complex cell plans, which resemble the structure of a eukaryotic cell. It has been suggested that Planctomycetota are what a transition phase between prokaryotic and eukaryotic life could look like. I saw someone call them the "platypus of microbiology": instead of an egg-laying mammal, they're a compartmentalized bacterium.

Another trait unique to Planctomycetota is the ability to perform "anammox", or "anaerobic ammonia oxidation". You might remember from my previous posts that anaerobic bacteria are often preferable in sewage treatment, and that the ability to break down ammonia is important as well. But the real shining quality of anammox is how environmentally friendly it is: aerobic breakdown of ammonia creates greenhouse gases such as nitric oxide during intermediate steps, but ammamox can fully oxidize ammonia into nitrogen gas without the harmful byproducts. Plactomycetota, therefore, are uniquely relevant and useful in wastewater treatment.

Some Planctomycetota have the remarkable ability to reproduce by budding. This is a rare reproductive strategy, as most bacteria reproduce by dividing (generally in a process called "binary fission"). This "budding" can be a beautiful process: the Planktomyces bekefii do it by first creating a flower-like structure, consisting of several stalked appendages. The round ends of these stalks are then able to produce buds, as shown in the image below.