Proteorhodopsin genes are distributed among divergent marine bacterial taxa.

ABSTRACT: Proteorhodopsin (PR) is a retinal-binding bacterial integral membrane protein that functions as a light-driven proton pump. The gene encoding this photoprotein was originally discovered on a large genome fragment derived from an uncultured marine gamma-proteobacterium of the SAR86 group. Subsequently, many variants of the PR gene have been detected in marine plankton, via PCR-based gene surveys. It has not been clear, however, whether these different PR genes are widely distributed among different bacterial groups, or whether they have a restricted taxonomic distribution. We report here comparative analyses of PR-bearing genomic fragments recovered directly from planktonic bacteria inhabiting the California coast, the central Pacific Ocean, and waters offshore the Antarctica Peninsula. Seq

SUBMITTER: de la Torre JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC240704 | biostudies-literature | 2003 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature