title: Stone-dwelling actinobacteria Blastococcus saxobsidens, Modestobacter marinus and Geodermatophilus obscurus proteogenomes.
abstract: The Geodermatophilaceae are unique model systems to study the ability to thrive on or within stones and their proteogenomes (referring to the whole protein arsenal encoded by the genome) could provide important insight into their adaptation mechanisms. Here we report the detailed comparative genome analysis of Blastococcus saxobsidens (Bs), Modestobacter marinus (Mm) and Geodermatophilus obscurus (Go) isolated respectively from the interior and the surface of calcarenite stones and from desert sandy soils. The genome-scale analysis of Bs, Mm and Go illustrates how adaptation to these niches can be achieved through various strategies including 'molecular tinkering/opportunism' as shown by the high proportion of lost, duplicated or horizontally transferred genes and ORFans. Using high-throughput discovery proteomics, the three proteomes under unstressed conditions were analyzed, highlighting the most abundant biomarkers and the main protein factors. Proteomic data corroborated previously demonstrated stone-related ecological distribution. For instance, these data showed starvation-inducible, biofilm-related and DNA-protection proteins as signatures of the microbes associated with the interior, surface and outside of stones, respectively.
authors.affiliation: National Center for Nuclear Sciences and Technology, Sidi Thabet Technopark, Ariana, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Haïtham
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sghaier
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Microorganismes et Biomolécules Actives, Université de Tunis Elmanar (FST) and Université de Carthage (INSAT), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Karima
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8693-2316
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hezbri
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Microorganismes et Biomolécules Actives, Université de Tunis Elmanar (FST) and Université de Carthage (INSAT), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Faten
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ghodhbane-Gtari
authors.affiliation: Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Ecologie Microbienne, UMR 5557, Villeurbannes, France.
authors.forename: Petar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pujic
authors.affiliation: NBU Bioinformatics Facility, Department of Botany, University of North Bengal, Siliguri, India.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.affiliation: BESE, Biological and Environmental Sciences and Engineering Division, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.|Department of Food, Environmental and Nutritional Sciences (DeFENS), University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Daniele
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0947-925X
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Daffonchio
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Microorganismes et Biomolécules Actives, Université de Tunis Elmanar (FST) and Université de Carthage (INSAT), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Abdellatif
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boudabous
authors.affiliation: Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA.
authors.forename: Louis S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Tisa
authors.affiliation: School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: Hans-Peter
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Klenk
authors.affiliation: CEA, DSV, IBITEC-S, Lab Innovative Technologies for Detection and Diagnostic, Bagnols-sur-Cèze, France.
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Armengaud
authors.affiliation: Université Lyon 1, Université de Lyon, CNRS, Ecologie Microbienne, UMR 5557, Villeurbannes, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Normand
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Microorganismes et Biomolécules Actives, Université de Tunis Elmanar (FST) and Université de Carthage (INSAT), Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Maher
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6946-6907
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gtari
mesh_terms: D039903:Actinobacteria / Q000235:genetics*; D000192:Actinomycetales / Q000235:genetics*; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D044822:Biodiversity; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid / Q000379:methods; D019015:Geologic Sediments / Q000382:microbiology*; D013058:Mass Spectrometry / Q000379:methods; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods