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Metabolic streamlining in an open-ocean nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium

Author

Listed:
  • H. James Tripp

    (University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA)

  • Shellie R. Bench

    (University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA)

  • Kendra A. Turk

    (University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA)

  • Rachel A. Foster

    (University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA)

  • Brian A. Desany

    (454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, 20 Commercial Street, Branford, Connecticut 06405, USA)

  • Faheem Niazi

    (454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, 20 Commercial Street, Branford, Connecticut 06405, USA)

  • Jason P. Affourtit

    (454 Life Sciences, a Roche Company, 20 Commercial Street, Branford, Connecticut 06405, USA)

  • Jonathan P. Zehr

    (University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA)

Abstract

A lean, mean microbe The as-yet uncultivated nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium known as UCYN-A is widely distributed in the world's oceans. Metagenomic analysis has shown it to lack genes for the oxygen-producing photosystem II complex of the photosynthetic apparatus — which helps it fix nitrogen in the daylight — and for carbon fixation. Now using massively parallel paired-end pyrosequencing technology, the complete UCYN-A genome has been determined. It emerges as a remarkably simple organism, lacking many core metabolic pathways and depending heavily on other organisms for organic carbon and even organic nitrogen-containing compounds. Though the genome has structural similarities to chloroplasts and endosymbionts, experiments on natural populations have so far not detected any symbiotic relationships with other microbes.

Suggested Citation

  • H. James Tripp & Shellie R. Bench & Kendra A. Turk & Rachel A. Foster & Brian A. Desany & Faheem Niazi & Jason P. Affourtit & Jonathan P. Zehr, 2010. "Metabolic streamlining in an open-ocean nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium," Nature, Nature, vol. 464(7285), pages 90-94, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:464:y:2010:i:7285:d:10.1038_nature08786
    DOI: 10.1038/nature08786
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    Cited by:

    1. Grimaud, Ghjuvan Micaelu & Rabouille, Sophie & Dron, Anthony & Sciandra, Antoine & Bernard, Olivier, 2014. "Modelling the dynamics of carbon–nitrogen metabolism in the unicellular diazotrophic cyanobacterium Crocosphaera watsonii WH8501, under variable light regimes," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 291(C), pages 121-133.

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