De novo metagenomic assembly reveals abundant novel major lineage of Archaea in hypersaline microbial communities.

ABSTRACT: This study describes reconstruction of two highly unusual archaeal genomes by de novo metagenomic assembly of multiple, deeply sequenced libraries from surface waters of Lake Tyrrell (LT), a hypersaline lake in NW Victoria, Australia. Lineage-specific probes were designed using the assembled genomes to visualize these novel archaea, which were highly abundant in the 0.1-0.8 μm size fraction of lake water samples. Gene content and inferred metabolic capabilities were highly dissimilar to all previously identified hypersaline microbial species. Distinctive characteristics included unique amino acid composition, absence of Gvp gas vesicle proteins, atypical archaeal metabolic pathways and unusually small cell size (approximately 0.6 μm diameter). Multi-locus phylogenetic analyses demonstrated

SUBMITTER: Narasingarao P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3246234 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature