Insights into the life styles of pseudomonas stutzeri

Abstract

For many years, Pseudomonas stutzeri has been a model microorganism for studying the biochemical and physiological properties of a bacterium with enormous metabolic capacities. Denitrification - the ability to grow anaerobically with nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor - was discovered in this species. This characteristic was elucidated by dissecting the biochemistry and genetics of the ZoBell strain. This strain has also been studied for its natural transformation ability. At the same time, its phenotypic and genotypic diversity has led to novel concepts in the bacterial taxonomy. The knowledge of its ecological properties makes it a good model organism for studying bacterial evolution. Today, modern techniques based on the analysis of its genome provide novel tools for deciphering the natural history of this species. This chapter presents the current knowledge of the biology and ecology of Pseudomonas stutzeri from an evolutionary point of view.