''Sporosarcina'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

bacteria Bacteria (; : bacterium) are ubiquitous, mostly free-living organisms often consisting of one Cell (biology), biological cell. They constitute a large domain (biology), domain of Prokaryote, prokaryotic microorganisms. Typically a few micr ...

Specification

The cells of the

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of ''Sporosarcina'' are either rod-shaped or

coccoid Coccoid means shaped like or resembling a coccus, that is, spherical.The noun coccoid or coccoids may refer to: * a level of organization, characterized by unicellular, non-flagellated, non-amoeboid organisms, with a definite shape, in general bu ...

. ''Sporosarcina'' forms

endospore An endospore is a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by some bacteria in the phylum Bacillota. The name "endospore" is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form (''endo'' means 'within'), but it is not a true spore (i.e., not ...

s. The majority species of ''Sporosarcina'' is moveable (motile).

Metabolism

All species of ''Sporosarcina'' are

heterotroph A heterotroph (; ) is an organism that cannot produce its own food, instead taking nutrition from other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter. In the food chain, heterotrophs are primary, secondary and tertiary consumers, but ...

ic. They do not perform photosynthesis. A few species are obligate

aerobic Aerobic means "requiring air," in which "air" usually means oxygen. Aerobic may also refer to * Aerobic exercise, prolonged exercise of moderate intensity * Aerobics, a form of aerobic exercise * Aerobic respiration, the aerobic process of cellu ...

, they need oxygen. Others are facultative aerobic, they can also perform metabolism in the absence of oxygen.

Ecology

Some species, such as ''S. ureae'' have the enzyme

urease Ureases (), functionally, belong to the superfamily of amidohydrolases and phosphotriesterases. Ureases are found in numerous Bacteria, Archaea, fungi, algae, plants, and some invertebrates. Ureases are nickel-containing metalloenzymes of high ...

and are thus able to break down

urea Urea, also called carbamide (because it is a diamide of carbonic acid), is an organic compound with chemical formula . This amide has two Amine, amino groups (–) joined by a carbonyl functional group (–C(=O)–). It is thus the simplest am ...

. The species forms the highest population densities in soils that are subject to influence of urine. These include, for example, meadows where cattle are kept. Thus ''S. ureae'' plays an important role in the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

Molecular Signatures

Analyses of genome sequences of ''Sporosarcina'' species identified eight

conserved signature indels Conserved signature inserts and deletions (CSIs) in protein sequences provide an important category of molecular markers for understanding phylogenetic relationships. CSIs, brought about by rare genetic changes, provide useful phylogenetic markers ...

(CSIs) that are uniquely present in this genus in the proteins aspartate–tRNA ligase, A/G-specific adenine glycosylase,

thymidylate synthase Thymidylate synthase (TS) () is an enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of deoxyuridine monophosphate (dUMP) to deoxythymidine monophosphate (dTMP). Thymidine is one of the nucleotides in DNA. With inhibition of TS, an imbalance of deoxynucleot ...

, RDD family protein,

DEAD/DEAH box helicase DEAD box proteins are involved in an assortment of metabolic processes that typically involve RNAs, but in some cases also other nucleic acids. They are highly conserved in nine motifs and can be found in most prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but not ...

, membrane protein insertase YidC,

cytochrome b6 Cytochrome b is a protein found in the membranes of aerobic cells. In eukaryotic mitochondria (inner membrane) and in aerobic prokaryotes, cytochrome b is a component of respiratory chain complex III () — also known as the bc1 complex or ubiquin ...

, and a hypothetical protein. These molecular signatures provide a novel and reliable method to molecularly distinguishing ''Sporosarcina'' species from other genera in the family ''Caryophanaceae'' and other bacteria.

Phylogeny

The currently accepted taxonomy is based on the

List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature List of Prokaryotic names with Standing in Nomenclature (LPSN) is an online database that maintains information on the naming and taxonomy of prokaryotes, following the taxonomy requirements and rulings of the International Code of Nomenclatu ...

(LPSN) and

National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) is part of the National Library of Medicine (NLM), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is approved and funded by the government of the United States. The NCBI is lo ...

(NCBI) Unassigned species: * "''S. ginsengisoli''" Achal et al. 2012 * "''S. jeotgali''" Yang et al. 2024 * "''S. oncorhynchi''" Yang et al. 2024 * "''S. sphaerica''" Gupta & Patel 2019 * "''S. trichiuri''" Yang et al. 2024

References