title: Lactobacillus rossiae, a vitamin B12 producer, represents a metabolically versatile species within the Genus Lactobacillus.
abstract: Lactobacillus rossiae is an obligately hetero-fermentative lactic acid bacterium, which can be isolated from a broad range of environments including sourdoughs, vegetables, fermented meat and flour, as well as the gastrointestinal tract of both humans and animals. In order to unravel distinctive genomic features of this particular species and investigate the phylogenetic positioning within the genus Lactobacillus, comparative genomics and phylogenomic approaches, followed by functional analyses were performed on L. rossiae DSM 15814T, showing how this type strain not only occupies an independent phylogenetic branch, but also possesses genomic features underscoring its biotechnological potential. This strain in fact represents one of a small number of bacteria known to encode a complete de novo biosynthetic pathway of vitamin B12 (in addition to other B vitamins such as folate and riboflavin). In addition, it possesses the capacity to utilize an extensive set of carbon sources, a characteristic that may contribute to environmental adaptation, perhaps enabling the strain's ability to populate different niches.
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: De Angelis
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bottacini
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutical, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Fosso
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kelleher
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Calasso
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Raffaella
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Di Cagno
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Probiogenomics, Department of Life Sciences, University of Parma, Parma, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ventura
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutical, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy; Institute of Biomembranes and Bioenergetics (IBBE), CNR, Bari, Italy; National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems (INBB), Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Picardi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland; Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.
authors.forename: Douwe
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: van Sinderen
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gobbetti
mesh_terms: D005285:Fermentation; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D007778:Lactobacillus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010802:Phylogeny; D014805:Vitamin B 12 / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D014805:Vitamin B 12