Whole genome comparison of six Crocosphaera watsonii strains with differing phenotypes.

ABSTRACT: Crocosphaera watsonii, a unicellular nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium found in oligotrophic oceans, is important in marine carbon and nitrogen cycles. Isolates of C. watsonii can be separated into at least two phenotypes with environmentally important differences, indicating possibly distinct ecological roles and niches. To better understand the evolutionary history and variation in metabolic capabilities among strains and phenotypes, this study compared the genomes of six C. watsonii strains, three from each phenotypic group, which had been isolated over several decades from multiple ocean basins. While a substantial portion of each genome was nearly identical to sequences in the other strains, a few regions were identified as specific to each strain and phenotype, some of which help explai

SUBMITTER: Bench SR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5945289 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature