Opening a next-generation black box: Ecological trends for hundreds of species-like taxa uncovered within a single bacterial >99% 16S rRNA operational taxonomic unit.

ABSTRACT: Current knowledge on environmental distribution and taxon richness of free-living bacteria is mainly based on cultivation-independent investigations employing 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods. Yet, 16S rRNA genes are evolutionarily rather conserved, resulting in limited taxonomic and ecological resolutions provided by this marker. The faster evolving protein-encoding gene priB was used to reveal ecological patterns hidden within a single operational taxonomic unit (OTU) defined by >99% 16S rRNA sequence similarity. The studied subcluster PnecC of the genus Polynucleobacter represents a ubiquitous group of abundant freshwater bacteria with cosmopolitan distribution, which is very frequently detected by diversity surveys of freshwater systems. Based on genome taxonomy and a large set of geno

SUBMITTER: Hahn MW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7611649 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature