Wajdi Ben HaniaAix-Marseille Université | AMU · Institut Méditerranéen d'Océanographie (UMR_D 235 MIO)
Wajdi Ben Hania
PhD; engineer
About
63
Publications
8,452
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720
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Citations since 2017
Introduction
I’am specialized on anaerobic microorganisms involved in the sulfur and carbon cycles (e.g. sulfate-reduction, methanogenesis) with a peculiar emphasis regarding those inhabiting extreme environments (e.g. terrestrial thermal springs, oil reservoirs, hypersaline lakes) and microbiota (eg. human, animals). I have very good practices in the isolation and characterization of novel genera and species within the Bacteria and Archae domains.
Publications
Publications (63)
Pseudothermotoga elfii strain DSM9442 and P. elfii subsp. lettingae strain DSM14385 are hyperthermophilic bacteria. P. elfii DSM9442 is a piezophile and was isolated from a depth of over 1600 m in an oil-producing well in Africa. P. elfii subsp. lettingae is piezotolerant and was isolated from a thermophilic bioreactor fed with methanol as the sole...
Pharmabiotics and probiotics in current use or under development belong to 2 of 3 domains of life, Eukarya (eg, yeasts) and Bacteria (eg, lactobacilli). Archaea constitute a third domain of life, and are currently not used as probiotics, despite several interesting features. This includes the absence of known pathogens in humans, animals, or plants...
![Fig. S2: Maximum likelihood phylogeny of the [FeFe] hydrogenases in...](profile/Gael-Erauso/publication/320986879/figure/fig2/AS:560910691717121@1510742938612/Fig-S2-Maximum-likelihood-phylogeny-of-the-FeFe-hydrogenases-in-Thermotogae-101_Q320.jpg)
Mesotoga prima strain PhosAc3 is a mesophilic representative of the phylum Thermotogae comprising only fermentative bacteria so far. We show that while unable to ferment glucose, this bacterium is able to couple its oxidation to reduction of elemental sulfur. We demonstrate furthermore that M. prima strain PhosAc3 as well as M. prima strain MesG1 a...
Anaerobic biotechnology using sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) is a promising alternative for reducing long-term stockpiling of phosphogypsum (PG), an acidic (pH ~3) by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industries containing high amounts of sulfate. The main objective of this study was to evaluate, for the first time, the diversity and ability of...
The anaerobic, mesophilic and moderately halophilic strain L21-Spi-D4T was recently isolated from the suboxic zone of a hypersaline cyanobacterial mat using protein-rich extracts of Arthrospira (formerly Spirulina) platensis as substrate. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA genes indicated an affiliation of the novel strain with the Bacteroidet...
A mesophilic anaerobic bacterium, designated KHALHBD91T was isolated from the moderately hot spring of Hamman Biadha, Tunisia. The strain was Gram staining negative, non sporulating, non motile and rod shaped, appearing singly (0.5-2.0µm x 0.5-1µm).It grew anaerobically at temperatures between 20 and 50°C (optimum 37°C) and at pH between 5.5-7.8 (o...
Desulfovibrio piezophilus strain C1TLV30(T) is a mesophilic piezophilic sulfate-reducer isolated from Wood Falls at 1700 m depth in the Mediterranean Sea. In this study, we analysed the effect of the hydrostatic pressure on this deep-sea living bacterium at the physiologic and transcriptomic levels. Our results showed that lactate oxidation and ene...
Taking into account their 16S rRNA gene sequences, it appears that Acetomicrobium flavidum and the three Anaerobaculum species described so far belong to the same phylogenetic clade with high levels (>95 %) of similarity. In this respect, these three Anaerobaculum species should be reclassified within the genus Acetomicrobium which has priority ove...
Strain KhalAKB1T, a novel mesophilic, anaerobic rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from waters collected from a mesothermic tunisian spring. Cells are Gram-positive staining rods, occurring singly or in pairs and motile by one lateral flagellum. Strain KhalAKB1T grows at temperatures between 15° C and 45° C (optimum 30°C), pH between 5.5 and 8.5 (op...
Taking into account its phenotypical and genetic characteristics, Acetomicrobium faecale was first recognized as a member of the genus Acetomicrobium, family Bacteroidaceae, order Bacteroidales, phylum Bacteroidetes, with Acetomicrobium flavidum being the type species of the genus. However, it was found that Acetomicrobium faecale presented 95.8 %,...
Mesotoga strain PhosAc3 was the first mesophilic cultivated member of the order Thermotogales. This genus currently contain two described species, M. prima and M. infera. Strain PhosAc3, isolated from a Tunisian digestor treating phosphogypsum, is phylogenetically closely related to M. prima strain MesG1.Ag.4.2T. Strain PhosAc3 has a genome of 3.1...
A novel anaerobic bacterium, designated L21-TH-D2T was isolated from the anoxic zone of a microbial mat of the hypersaline Lake 21 on the Kiritimati Atoll (Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific). Cells were Gram-positive, spore-forming and motile slender rods. The novel strain grew anaerobically by fermentation at temperatures between 40 and 65°C (...
During a study of the anaerobic microbial community of a lithifying hypersaline microbial mat of Lake 21 on the Kiritimati atoll (Kiribati Republic, Central Pacific) strain L21-RPul-D2T was isolated. The closest phylogenetic neighbor was Spirochaeta africana Z-7692T that shared a 16S rRNA gene sequence identity value of 90% with the novel strain an...
A novel anaerobic, mesophilic, slightly halophilic sulfate-reducing bacterium designated strain Khaled BD4T was isolated from waters from a Tunisian thermal spring. The cells were vibrio-shaped or sigmoids (5-7 x 1-1.5 µm) and occurred singly or in pairs. Strain Khaled BD4T was Gram-staining-negative, motile, non-sporulated. It grew at temperature...
A novel filamentous, endospore-forming, thermophilic and moderately halophilic bacterium designated strain Nari2AT was isolated from a soil collected from an Algerian salt lake, named Chott Melghir. The novel isolate is Gram-staining-positive, aerobic, catalase-negative and oxidase-positive. Its optimum growth occurred at 50-55°C, 7-10 % (w/v) NaCl...
A novel filamentous, endospore-forming, thermophilic and moderately halophilic bacterium designated strain Nari2A(T) was isolated from soil collected from an Algerian salt lake, Chott Melghir. The novel isolate was Gram-staining-positive, aerobic, catalase-negative and oxidase-positive. Optimum growth occurred at 50-55 degrees C, 7-10% (w/v) NaCl a...
A new Gram-positive-staining, non-sporulating, mesophilic, amino acid-degrading anaerobic bacterium, designated strain OTA 102T (T = type strain), was isolated from an anaerobic sequencing batch reactor treating cooking tuna wastewater. The cells were curved rods (0.6-2.5 x 0.5 µm) and occurred singly or in pairs. The strain was motile by means of...
The family Thermodesulfobiaceae is a polyphyletic family within the order Thermoanaerobacterales, class Clostridia; it embraces the type genus Thermodesulfobium which contains one species, T. narugense and the genus Coprothermobacter which includes two species: C. platensis and C. proteolyticus. Members of the family are defined by a wide range of...
Strain LTF Kr01, a novel mesophilic, anaerobic, halotolerant, rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from a drain at the bottom of a corroded kerosene storage tank of the Société Tunisienne des Industries de Raffinage (STIR), Bizerte, North Tunisia. Cells are Gram- positive rods, and occur singly or in pairs, motile by one lateral flagellum. Strain LTF...
To date, xylanases have expanded their use in many processing industries, such as pulp, paper, food, and textile. This study aimed the production and partial characterization of a thermostable xylanase from a novel thermophilic anaerobic bacterium Caldicoprobacter algeriensis strain TH7C1(T) isolated from a northeast hot spring in Algeria. The obta...
A novel anaerobic, chemo-organotrophic sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain Olac 40T, was isolated from a Tunisian wastewater digestor. Cells were curved motile rods or vibrios (5.0-7.0 x 0.5 μm). Strain Olac 40T grew at temperatures between 15 and 50°C (optimum 40°C), and at pH between 5.0 and 9.0 (optimum 7.1). It did not require NaCl fo...
Strain VNs100T, a novel mesophilic anaerobic rod-cocoid-shaped bacterium, having a sheath-like outer structure (toga) was isolated from a water sample collected in the area of underground gas storage. It was non-motile with cells appearing singly (2-4 μm long x 1-2 μm wide), in pairs, or as long chains and stained Gram-negative. Strain VNs100T was...
##Assembly-Data-START## Assembly Method :: BioEdit v. 5.0.9 Sequencing Technology :: Sanger dideoxy sequencing ##Assembly-Data-END##
Plasmid gene content tree. The tree was constructed using GeneContent program (Gu et al. Bioinformatics, 2005; 21:1713–1714) and rooted with the pTBMP1 plasmid of T. barophilus MP, which shares with the rest of the plasmids a single gene. Plasmid names are coloured according to the geographical origin of the Thermococcales strains from which they w...
Cumulative GC skew analysis of pTN2-like (A) and pEXT9a-like (B) plasmids. The ORF maps for each of the plasmids are shown above the corresponding GC skew plots. The large intergenic regions housing the origins of plasmid replication (ori) are matched with the inflections in the GC skew plots by grey shading. The putative new ori site in pIRI33 is...
Alignment of winged helix-turn-helix (wHTH) proteins conserved in pTN2-like and pEXT9a-like plasmids. The alignment is coloured according to sequence conservation (% identity). The secondary structure determined from the X-ray structure of wHTH transcriptional repressor BigR from Xylella fastidiosa (PDB ID: 3PQK) is shown above the alignment with α...
Alignment of ribbon-helix-helix (RHH) motif containing proteins encoded by thermococcal plasmids. The alignment is coloured according to sequence conservation (% identity). The secondary structure determined from the X-ray structure of RHH transcriptional repressor NikR from Escherichia coli (PDB ID: 2HZA) is shown above the alignment with α helice...
Phylogenetic analysis of the cellular and plasmid-encoded RelE-like proteins. The evolutionary history was inferred by using the Maximum Likelihood method based on the JTT model (+I, +G [4 categories]). The bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 100 replicates. Numbers at the branch-points represent bootstrap values. Branches corresponding to p...
Phylogenetic tree of selected archaeal species based on 16S rRNA gene sequences. The evolutionary history was inferred by using the Maximum Likelihood method based on the Tamura-Nei model (+I, +G [4 categories]). The bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 100 replicates. Numbers at the branch-points represent bootstrap values. Branches correspo...
Mobilome of hyperthermophilic archaea dwelling in deep-sea hydrothermal vents is poorly characterized. To gain insight into genetic diversity and dynamics of mobile genetic elements in these environments we have sequenced five new plasmids from different Thermococcus strains that have been isolated from geographically remote hydrothermal vents. The...
Replication protein-based classification of
Thermococcales
plasmids.
(DOC)
PAV1 ORFs with homologues in thermococcal plasmids.
(DOC)
Alignment of Hfq-like proteins encoded by thermococcal plasmids. The alignment is coloured according to sequence conservation (% identity). The N-terminal Zinc finger (ZF) domain of the plasmid proteins is aligned with the ZF domain of the human zinc-fingers and homeoboxes 1 protein (PDB ID: 2GHF), while the C-terminal domain is aligned with the Hf...
Supporting Materials and Methods.
(DOC)
RelEB toxin-antitoxin system encoded by archaeal plasmids. Plasmid-encoded RelE-like toxin (A) and RelB-like antitoxin (B) proteins are aligned with the corresponding protein from Pyrococcus horikoshii OT3 (PDB ID: 1WMI_A and 1WMI_B, respectively). The alignments are coloured according to sequence conservation (% identity). The secondary structure...
Annotation of the five plasmids described in this study.
(DOC)
A strictly anaerobic, extremely halophilic, gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium was isolated from the hypersaline (>20% NaCl) surface sediments of Sehline Sebkha in Tunisia. The strain, designated 1SehelT, was strictly halophilic and proliferated at NaCl concentrations between 5 and 30% (saturation), with optimal growth at 20% of NaCl. Strain 1Sehe...
A hyperthermophilic anaerobic bacterium, designated D2C22T was isolated from the hydrothermal hot spring of Guelma in the Northeast Algeria. The strain was Gram-positive, non-sporulated, not motile and rod-shaped, appearing singly or in pairs (0.3-0.4 µm x 8-9 µm). It grew anaerobically at temperatures between 50 and 80 °C (optimum 65 °C) and at pH...
A strictly anaerobic, moderately thermophilic, halotolerant, rod-shaped bacterium, was isolated from a water sample of a Tunisian hot spring. The strain designated BELH25T was non motile with cells appearing singly or in pairs (0.4-0.6 µm x 2-6 µm). It grew at temperatures between 45°C and 70°C (optimum 55°C), pH between 6.2 and 8.0 (optimum 7.0) a...
Strain SulfLac1(T), a thermophilic, anaerobic and slightly halophilic, rod-shaped bacterium with a sheath-like outer structure (toga), was isolated from a whey digester in Tunisia. The strain's non-motile cells measured 3-30×1 µm and appeared singly, in pairs or as long chains. The novel strain reduced thiosulfate and elemental sulfur, but not sulf...
Strain BELH1(T), a novel mesophilic, anaerobic, halotolerant, rod-shaped bacterium, was isolated from a Tunisian wastewater digester. The cells of the strain are motile, measure 0.5×2-5 µm, and occur singly or in pairs. The strain reduced thiosulfate and elemental sulfur (but not sulfate or sulfite) into sulfide. It grew at 15-40 °C (optimum 30 °C)...
Cultivated members of the order Thermotogales comprise only thermophilic to hyperthermophilic anaerobic microorganisms. However, based on molecular studies, the existence of mesophilic members ("mesotoga") within this order has been postulated but has not been demonstrated by cultural approaches so far. A "mesotoga" (strain PhosAc3) that belonged t...
A method for the cleanup of site/sediments contaminated by heavy metals, or by
chlorobenzoate, polychlorobenzoates, monochlorophenol, polychlorophenols,
polychlorobiphenyl (PCB) compounds or phosphogypsum, includes treating the
contaminated sites/sediments by anaerobic mesophilic bacteria (Mesotoga lineage)
belonging to the order of Thermotogales.
Projects
Project (1)
Several saline lakes of Christmas Island (Kiritimati, Republic of Kiribati, Central Pacific) are characterized by very thick gelatinous microbial mats that seem to control the precipitation of gypsum and carbonates at the bottom of the lakes. These mats are composed mainly of cyanobacteria in the upper layers and anaerobic bacteria in the deeper zones where the mineralization takes place. While cyanobacteria represent the main primary producers, the function of the non-phototrophic microbial community is largely unknown, but it is thought that distinct types of Bacteria and Archaea play a major role in the precipitation of minerals. In the course of this project we could isolate a large number of novel strains from the anoxic zone of the photosynthetically active mat of the Kiritimati Lake 21. For comparison anaerobic isolates were also obtained from saline sediments of evaporation ponds. We now try to define the ecological niche and putative function of these strains in hypersaline ecosystems by using traditional phenotypic methods and genome sequencing as well as determination of cultivation independent environmental data.
