Rates of Molecular Evolution in a Marine Synechococcus Phage Lineage.

ABSTRACT: Cyanophages are characterized by vast genomic diversity and the formation of stable ecotypes over time. The evolution of phage diversity includes vertical processes, such as mutation, and horizontal processes, such as recombination and gene transfer. Here, we study the contribution of vertical and horizontal processes to short-term evolution of marine cyanophages. Analyzing time series data of Synechococcus-infecting Myoviridae ecotypes spanning up to 17 years, we found a high contribution of recombination relative to mutation (r/m) in all ecotypes. Additionally, we found a molecular clock of substitution and recombination in one ecotype, RIM8. The estimated RIM8 evolutionary rates are 2.2 genome-wide substitutions per year (1.275 × 10^-5 substitutions/site/year) an

SUBMITTER: Kupczok A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6722890 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature