The Genome of Strain TC8, a Metabolically Versatile Alphaproteobacterium from the Tor Caldara Gas Vents in the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Varunaivibrio type strain TC8 is a mesophilic, facultatively anaerobic, facultatively chemolithoautotrophic alphaproteobacterium isolated from a sulfidic shallow-water marine gas vent located at Tor Caldara, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. belongs to the family within the Alphaproteobacteria, with as its closest relative. The genome of encodes the genes involved in sulfur, thiosulfate and sulfide oxidation, as well as nitrate and oxygen respiration. The genome encodes the genes involved in carbon fixation via the Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, in addition to genes involved in glycolysis and the TCA cycle, indicating a mixotrophic lifestyle. Genes involved in the detoxification of mercury and arsenate are also present. The genome also encodes a complete flagellar complex, one intact prophage and one CRISPR, as well as a putative DNA uptake mechanism mediated by the type IVc (aka Tad pilus) secretion system. Overall, the genome of highlights the organism's metabolic versatility, a characteristic that makes this strain well-adapted to the dynamic environmental conditions of sulfidic gas vents.