Shewanella baltica Ecotypes Have Wide Transcriptional Variation under the Same Growth Conditions.

ABSTRACT: In bacterial populations, subtle expressional differences may promote ecological specialization through the formation of distinct ecotypes. In a barrier-free habitat, this process most likely precedes population divergence and may predict speciation events. To examine this, we used four sequenced strains of the bacterium Shewanella baltica, OS155, OS185, OS195, and OS223, as models to assess transcriptional variation and ecotype formation within a prokaryotic population. All strains were isolated from different depths throughout a water column of the Baltic Sea, occupying different ecological niches characterized by various abiotic parameters. Although the genome sequences are nearly 100% conserved, when grown in the laboratory under standardized conditions, all strains exhibited di

SUBMITTER: Hambright WS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5071532 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature