More support for a diderm (G-) PVC cell plan

A new publication related to the last post about a change of paradigm for the PVC cell plan, where Devos re-interprets the actual evidence in favour of a G- ancestry for PVC has just gone public. In this article that could be considered as an addendum to the TiM one, Devos re-considers in AvL the arguments presented by Fuerst as supporting the exceptional status developed in the AvL special issue dedicated to the first PVC conference. In this publication, Fuerst presented 5 major arguments that he claims warrant the exceptional status of the PVC cell plan. In this new publication, Devos re-interprets those arguments in an evolutionary context that was curiously missing from the Fuerst consideration. Devos considers an alternative interpretation grounded in evolutionary events that are likely to have shaped the PVC genomes. According to the author, this interpretation supports the alternative proposal that the PVC cell plan is derived from a Gneg one.

Apparently the two hypothesis are unreconcilable and future research in this exciting field should soon tell the truth from the unsupported claims.

Please leave a comment about your feelings on this issue. Hopefully this issue can be settled soon.

Change of paradigm in PVC biology

It has been a while that it has been in the air. It is about time that the single handed view of a few is being opposed by a more constructive interpretation. Published in Trends in Microbiology, DP Devos propose to interpret PVC cell plan in a classical Gram-negative framework. This has been previously heralded by works like the one of anammox genome or Speth article, but never before in a so detailed and descriptive way. The following quote applies wonderfully to the period previous to this publication:

"With rare exceptions, most scientific ideas arise out of an earlier period of confusion, contradiction, and partial truths." EA Carlson "Mendel's legacy"

This was timely. And we are looking forward to constructive evaluation of this new framework.

How much should we spend on Science and how much we get back?

If you have ever wondered why we need to fund science, keep on reading. Fascinating analysis on the political and economical implications on Science spending published by WH Press in Science.

Special Issue of AvL on the first PVC meeting

And the Special issue of Antonie van Leeuwenhoek entirely dedicated to the 1st PVC conference is now online at the AvL web site. It includes, an introduction by the organisers, a review and historical perspective, contributions by some keynote speakers and original contributions from the talks. Very nice way to wrap up the first PVC conference and a great way to keep on track if you missed it.

Articles from the first PVC workshop

Most of the article from Special Issue of the publication Antonie van Leeuwenhoek dedicated to the first PVC workshop are now available on the pre-publication page of the AvL. Articles are available freely for a short time, so get them while you can. I have just been told that the SI will be freely available for the rest of the year. That is a very good news. Summary of the workshop and of the articles in the SI can be found in Introduction article by Devos, Jogler and Fuerst. The whole special issue is in production phase and should be available soon. Stay tuned.

First book on PVC published

The first book entirely dedicated to Planctomycetes bacteria is eventually out. It is published by Springer and is entitled Planctomycetes: Cell Structure, Origins and Biology, Editor: Fuerst JA. It is the first book on planctomycetes focused on their cell biology. It provides details on the significant ecology and enviromental significance of planctomycetes. And it is valuable for those in the field of planctomycetology and those entering it for the first time. Here is the introduction:

"Planctomycetes, and their relatives within the PVC superphylum of domain Bacteria, including verrucomicrobia and chlamydia, challenge our classical concept of the bacterium and its modes of life and provide new experimental models for exploring evolutionary cell biology and the full diversity of how living cells can be organized internally. Unique among Bacteria they include species possessing cells with intracellular membrane-bounded compartments and a peptidoglycan-less cell wall, and bacteria such as the anammox organisms performing unique anaerobic ammonium oxidation significant for global nitrogen cycle. The book introduces these fascinating and important bacteria and deals in detail with their unusual structure, physiology, genomics and evolutionary significance. It is a definitive summary of our recent knowledge of this important distinctive group of bacteria, microorganisms which challenge our very concept of the bacterium."

The book is limited to Planctomycetes, but there is also some considerations of the other PVC members, mainly the Verrucomicrobia and Chlamydiae.

ISBN 978-1-62703-502-6

Quick guide to Gemmata obscuriglobus

A beginner's guide to our favorite bacterium has just been released in Current Biology. This is the perfect starting point if you are interested in microbiology's platypus. Current Biology's Quick Guides aim to give readers 'everything you need to know about...' for topics they're likely to see fairly regularly in major journals but aren't up to speed with. This one starts like this "What is Gemmata obscuriglobus? Gemmata obscuriglobus is the standard bearer of a group of bacteria that has recently been the focus of interest in cellular, environmental, medical and evolutionary biology. G. obscuriglobus bacteria have been dubbed the ‘platypus of microbiology’ because of their peculiar characteristics usually not observed in bacteria, including some that are more commonly associated with eukaryotes and archaea."

Three-Dimensional Reconstruction of Bacteria with a Complex Endomembrane System

That is it, our last paper is out, Santarella-Mellwig et al., PLoS Biology 2013. In this paper, we investigated the three-dimensional organization of the complex endomembrane system in the planctomycete bacterium Gemmata obscuriglobus. We reveal that the G. obscuriglobus cells are neither compartmentalized nor nucleated, contrary to previous claims, as none of the spaces created by the membrane invaginations is topologically closed; instead, they are all interconnected. The organization of cellular space is similar to that of a classical Gram-negative bacterium modified by the presence of large invaginations of the inner membrane inside the cytoplasm. Thus, the membrane organization of G. obscuriglobus, and most likely all PVC members, is not fundamentally different from, but is rather an extension of, the “classical” Gram-negative bacterial membrane system.

See also the blog post cleaverly entitled Bacterium excluded from the Eukaryote Club

Encourage and accept mistakes

Nice text advocating in favour of risky behavior.

Even the brightest made serious blunders, including Darwin and Einstein.

Also encouraged to give up to 10% of the time to risky proposals, those with a low probability of success but potentially high return. This is very much in keeping with encouraging creativity, as we discussed in the book "Imagine".

1st PVC metting (I)

What a great conference.

Excellent, amazing. Great talks by all speakers, great science. We have seen a very broad coverage of the best science that is done right now on those fascinating bacteria. Due to the amazing intracellular organization, lots of electron microscopy, tomography, and the likes, that gave us an impressive view of the diversity in this bacterial super group. Diversity that we are only glimpsing at so far, with many analysing aiming at broadening our coverage of this diversity, at the DNA level, selection and cultivation level, and at the cellular biology, microscopy level. Great coverage of this diversity has been presented.

Due to the small scale of the community, the conference was attended by a small number of participants, 40-45, which allowed for lots of interactions. The social part of the meeting also greatly helped, with an amazing visit to the botanical garden (including a Gregorian singer guide), and a dinner at the beautiful Heidelberg castle (that holds the big wine barrel). Interesting presentation of the artist Eveline Kolijn that presented her work based on science images, bringing a refreshing and colorful side to the conference.

A special issue of the Antonie van Leeuwenhoek publication will be dedicated to this conference, with articles by most of the keynote speakers and some participants. And hopefully a meeting report. If you have missed the conference that would be the best way to catch up. Coming up soon.

Thanks you very much to the EMBO for a generous grant that allowed us to organize this great event and keep the prices low.
All in all, a very good first conference entirely dedicated to the PVC bacteria. The decision was taken to attempt to have another PVC conference in two years. See you then in 2015.

First PVC meeting coming up

The time of the first workshop entirely dedicated to PVC bacteria is coming up soon. The (almost) final program is available on the EMBO web site but also here.

The program looks really exciting, with key players in the field given keynote or small talks, but also most posters being presented as small talks. Lots of interaction being expected from this. There is also a whole section dedicated to Chlamydiae. We will provide here continuous coverage of this exciting meeting.

Stay tuned.