Speciation and ecological success in dimly lit waters: horizontal gene transfer in a green sulfur bacteria bloom unveiled by metagenomic assembly.

ABSTRACT: A natural planktonic bloom of a brown-pigmented photosynthetic green sulfur bacteria (GSB) from the disphotic zone of karstic Lake Banyoles (NE Spain) was studied as a natural enrichment culture from which a nearly complete genome was obtained after metagenomic assembly. We showed in situ a case where horizontal gene transfer (HGT) explained the ecological success of a natural population unveiling ecosystem-specific adaptations. The uncultured brown-pigmented GSB was 99.7% identical in the 16S rRNA gene sequence to its green-pigmented cultured counterpart Chlorobium luteolum DSM 273^T. Several differences were detected for ferrous iron acquisition potential, ATP synthesis and gas vesicle formation, although the most striking trait was related to pigment biosynthesis strategy. Chl

SUBMITTER: Llorens-Mares T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5315485 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature