Expression of Novel Gene Content Drives Adaptation to Low Iron in the Cyanobacterium Acaryochloris.

ABSTRACT: Variation in genome content is a potent mechanism of microbial adaptation. The genomes of members of the cyanobacterial genus Acaryochloris vary greatly in gene content as a consequence of the idiosyncratic retention of both recent gene duplicates and plasmid-encoded genes acquired by horizontal transfer. For example, the genome of Acaryochloris strain MBIC11017, which was isolated from an iron-limited environment, is enriched in duplicated and novel genes involved in iron assimilation. Here, we took an integrative approach to characterize the adaptation of Acaryochloris MBIC11017 to low environmental iron availability and the relative contributions of the expression of duplicated versus novel genes. We observed that Acaryochloris MBIC11017 grew faster and to a higher yield in the presence

SUBMITTER: Gallagher AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6007379 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature