Genomic analysis of an Arctic marine Tenacibaculum sp. SM2510 reveals its genetic potential for glutathione utilization.

Abstract

Glutathione is a key intracellular antioxidant, playing a crucial role in resisting oxidative stress and maintaining cellular redox homeostasis. However, the glutathione metabolic capacity of Tenacibaculum remains poorly characterized. In this study, a Gram-stain-negative bacterium, Tenacibaculum sp. SM2510, was isolated from seawater collected from Kongsfjorden, Svalbard, Norway. Genome sequencing revealed that the strain possesses a single circular chromosome of 2,904,982 bp with a G + C content of 31.44%, encoding 2564 protein-coding genes. Genomic analysis indicates that Tenacibaculum sp. SM2510 may directly take up extracellular oxidized glutathione (GSSG) and reduce it to reduced glutathione (GSH) through a reductive pathway, which potentially allows the strain to alleviate the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) caused by strong ultraviolet radiation and low temperature in polar environments. Furthermore, genomic analysis predicts that the strain degrades GSH to produce essential life-sustaining substances. In conclusion, these results suggest that Tenacibaculum sp. SM2510 may potentially utilize exogenous glutathione for both antioxidant defense and nutrient acquisition through direct GSH degradation, providing new insights into the environmental adaptive evolution of polar marine bacteria.