Project description:A mesophilic, neutrophilic and aerobic, ammonia-oxidizing archaeon, strain EN76(T), was isolated from garden soil in Vienna (Austria). Cells were irregular cocci with a diameter of 0.6-0.9 µm and possessed archaella and archaeal pili as cell appendages. Electron microscopy also indicated clearly discernible areas of high and low electron density, as well as tubule-like structures. Strain EN76(T) had an S-layer with p3 symmetry, so far only reported for members of the Sulfolobales. Crenarchaeol was the major core lipid. The organism gained energy by oxidizing ammonia to nitrite aerobically, thereby fixing CO2, but growth depended on the addition of small amounts of organic acids. The optimal growth temperature was 42 °C and the optimal pH was 7.5, with ammonium and pyruvate concentrations of 2.6 and 1 mM, respectively. The genome of strain EN76(T) had a DNA G+C content of 52.7 mol%. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA genes showed that strain EN76(T) is affiliated with the recently proposed phylum Thaumarchaeota, sharing 85% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with the closest cultivated relative 'Candidatus Nitrosopumilus maritimus' SCM1, a marine ammonia-oxidizing archaeon, and a maximum of 81% 16S rRNA gene sequence identity with members of the phyla Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota and any of the other recently proposed phyla (e.g. 'Korarchaeota' and 'Aigarchaeota'). We propose the name Nitrososphaera viennensis gen. nov., sp. nov. to accommodate strain EN76(T). The type strain of Nitrososphaera viennensis is strain EN76(T) (?=?DSM 26422(T)?=?JMC 19564(T)). Additionally, we propose the family Nitrososphaeraceae fam. nov., the order Nitrososphaerales ord. nov. and the class Nitrososphaeria classis nov.
Project description:The activity of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) leads to the loss of nitrogen from soil, pollution of water sources and elevated emissions of greenhouse gas. To date, eight AOA genomes are available in the public databases, seven are from the group I.1a of the Thaumarchaeota and only one is from the group I.1b, isolated from hot springs. Many soils are dominated by AOA from the group I.1b, but the genomes of soil representatives of this group have not been sequenced and functionally characterized. The lack of knowledge of metabolic pathways of soil AOA presents a critical gap in understanding their role in biogeochemical cycles. Here, we describe the first complete genome of soil archaeon Candidatus Nitrososphaera evergladensis, which has been reconstructed from metagenomic sequencing of a highly enriched culture obtained from an agricultural soil. The AOA enrichment was sequenced with the high throughput next generation sequencing platforms from Pacific Biosciences and Ion Torrent. The de novo assembly of sequences resulted in one 2.95 Mb contig. Annotation of the reconstructed genome revealed many similarities of the basic metabolism with the rest of sequenced AOA. Ca. N. evergladensis belongs to the group I.1b and shares only 40% of whole-genome homology with the closest sequenced relative Ca. N. gargensis. Detailed analysis of the genome revealed coding sequences that were completely absent from the group I.1a. These unique sequences code for proteins involved in control of DNA integrity, transporters, two-component systems and versatile CRISPR defense system. Notably, genomes from the group I.1b have more gene duplications compared to the genomes from the group I.1a. We suggest that the presence of these unique genes and gene duplications may be associated with the environmental versatility of this group.
Project description:BACKGROUND:Very few closed genomes of the cyanobacteria that commonly produce toxic blooms in lakes and reservoirs are available, limiting our understanding of the properties of these organisms. A new anatoxin-a-producing member of the Nostocaceae, Anabaena sp. WA102, was isolated from a freshwater lake in Washington State, USA, in 2013 and maintained in non-axenic culture. RESULTS:The Anabaena sp. WA102 5.7 Mbp genome assembly has been closed with long-read, single-molecule sequencing and separately a draft genome assembly has been produced with short-read sequencing technology. The closed and draft genome assemblies are compared, showing a correlation between long repeats in the genome and the many gaps in the short-read assembly. Anabaena sp. WA102 encodes anatoxin-a biosynthetic genes, as does its close relative Anabaena sp. AL93 (also introduced in this study). These strains are distinguished by differences in the genes for light-harvesting phycobilins, with Anabaena sp. AL93 possessing a phycoerythrocyanin operon. Biologically relevant structural variants in the Anabaena sp. WA102 genome were detected only by long-read sequencing: a tandem triplication of the anaBCD promoter region in the anatoxin-a synthase gene cluster (not triplicated in Anabaena sp. AL93) and a 5-kbp deletion variant present in two-thirds of the population. The genome has a large number of mobile elements (160). Strikingly, there was no synteny with the genome of its nearest fully assembled relative, Anabaena sp. 90. CONCLUSION:Structural and functional genome analyses indicate that Anabaena sp. WA102 has a flexible genome. Genome closure, which can be readily achieved with long-read sequencing, reveals large scale (e.g., gene order) and local structural features that should be considered in understanding genome evolution and function.
Project description:In the present work, a highly pathogenic isolate of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lini, which is the most harmful pathogen affecting flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), was sequenced for the first time. To achieve a high-quality genome assembly, we used the combination of two sequencing platforms - Oxford Nanopore Technologies (MinION system) with long noisy reads and Illumina (HiSeq 2500 instrument) with short accurate reads. Given the quality of DNA is crucial for Nanopore sequencing, we developed the protocol for extraction of pure high-molecular-weight DNA from fungi. Sequencing of DNA extracted using this protocol allowed us to obtain about 85x genome coverage with long (N50 = 29 kb) MinION reads and 30x coverage with 2 × 250 bp HiSeq reads. Several tools were developed for genome assembly; however, they provide different results depending on genome complexity, sequencing data volume, read length and quality. We benchmarked the most requested assemblers (Canu, Flye, Shasta, wtdbg2, and MaSuRCA), Nanopore polishers (Medaka and Racon), and Illumina polishers (Pilon and POLCA) on our sequencing data. The assembly performed with Canu and polished with Medaka and POLCA was considered the most full and accurate. After further elimination of redundant contigs using Purge Haplotigs, we achieved a high-quality genome of F. oxysporum f. sp. lini with a total length of 59 Mb, N50 of 3.3 Mb, and 99.5% completeness according to BUSCO. We also obtained a complete circular mitochondrial genome with a length of 38.7 kb. The achieved assembly expands studies on F. oxysporum and plant-pathogen interaction in flax.
Project description:EstN2 is a novel ?/?-hydrolase originating from the ammonia-oxidizing thaumarchaeon Candidatus Nitrososphaera gargensis. The genome of the organism was sequenced and genes conferring putative lipolytic activity were amplified and cloned into Escherichia coli as a heterologous host. Through function-based screening, esterase and lipase activity was detected. A recombinant enzyme designated EstN2 was successfully expressed, purified and crystallized. The crystals belonged to space group I2, with one molecule per asymmetric unit, and diffracted X-rays to 1.5?Å resolution.
Project description:The genome sequence of Rhizobium sp. strain 76, a bacterium isolated from the hyphosphere of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum, is reported here. Genome sequencing and assembly yielded 5,375,961 bases with a 59.14% G+C content, comprising two chromosomes and one plasmid.