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The Fibrobacteres: an Important Phylum of Cellulose-Degrading Bacteria

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Abstract

The phylum Fibrobacteres currently comprises one formal genus, Fibrobacter, and two cultured species, Fibrobacter succinogenes and Fibrobacter intestinalis, that are recognised as major bacterial degraders of lignocellulosic material in the herbivore gut. Historically, members of the genus Fibrobacter were thought to only occupy mammalian intestinal tracts. However, recent 16S rRNA gene-targeted molecular approaches have demonstrated that novel centres of variation within the genus Fibrobacter are present in landfill sites and freshwater lakes, and their relative abundance suggests a potential role for fibrobacters in cellulose degradation beyond the herbivore gut. Furthermore, a novel subphylum within the Fibrobacteres has been detected in the gut of wood-feeding termites, and proteomic analyses have confirmed their involvement in cellulose hydrolysis. The genome sequence of F. succinogenes rumen strain S85 has recently suggested that within this group of organisms a “third” way of attacking the most abundant form of organic carbon in the biosphere, cellulose, has evolved. This observation not only has evolutionary significance, but the superior efficiency of anaerobic cellulose hydrolysis by Fibrobacter spp., in comparison to other cellulolytic rumen bacteria that typically utilise membrane-bound enzyme complexes (cellulosomes), may be explained by this novel cellulase system. There are few bacterial phyla with potential functional importance for which there is such a paucity of phenotypic and functional data. In this review, we highlight current knowledge of the Fibrobacteres phylum, its taxonomy, phylogeny, ecology and potential as a source of novel glycosyl hydrolases of biotechnological importance.

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Acknowledgements

Research on fibrobacters by the authors has been funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (AJM and JEM) and the Systematics Association’s SynTax award scheme, supported by the Linnean Society of London, BBSRC and NERC (JEM). ERJ is supported by a 125th Anniversary Scholarship at Bangor University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Biological Sciences, Bangor University, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK

    Emma Ransom-Jones & James E. McDonald

  2. School of Environment, Natural Resources and Geography, Bangor University, Deiniol Road, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2UW, UK

    David L. Jones

  3. Microbiology Research Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Biosciences Building, Crown Street, Liverpool, L69 7ZB, UK

    Alan J. McCarthy

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  1. Emma Ransom-Jones
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Correspondence to James E. McDonald.

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Ransom-Jones, E., Jones, D.L., McCarthy, A.J. et al. The Fibrobacteres: an Important Phylum of Cellulose-Degrading Bacteria. Microb Ecol 63, 267–281 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-011-9998-1

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