Year: 2013
Type: article
Abstract: A reference genome from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi is presented, along with sequences from 13 additional isolates, revealing a pan genome comprising core genes and genes variably distributed between strains: E. huxleyi is found to harbour extensive genetic variability under different metabolic repertoires, explaining its ability to thrive under a diverse range of environmental conditions. This paper presents a reference genome from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi strain CCMP1516. Coccolithophores are a major component of marine phytoplankton and can account for 20% of total carbon fixation in some systems, so have an important influence on global climate. Comparison of the reference genome to sequences from 13 other strains reveals a pan genome composed of core genes and genes variably distributed between strains. The findings indicate extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires, explaining in part how E. huxleyi can thrive and form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environments. Coccolithophores have influenced the global climate for over 200 million years1. These marine phytoplankton can account for 20 per cent of total carbon fixation in some systems2. They form blooms that can occupy hundreds of thousands of square kilometres and are distinguished by their elegantly sculpted calcium carbonate exoskeletons (coccoliths), rendering them visible from space3. Although coccolithophores export carbon in the form of organic matter and calcite to the sea floor, they also release CO2 in the calcification process. Hence, they have a complex influence on the carbon cycle, driving either CO2 production or uptake, sequestration and export to the deep ocean4. Here we report the first haptophyte reference genome, from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi strain CCMP1516, and sequences from 13 additional isolates. Our analyses reveal a pan genome (core genes plus genes distributed variably between strains) probably supported by an atypical complement of repetitive sequence in the genome. Comparisons across strains demonstrate that E. huxleyi, which has long been considered a single species, harbours extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires. Genome variability within this species complex seems to underpin its capacity both to thrive in habitats ranging from the equator to the subarctic and to form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environmental conditions.
Source: Nature
DOI: 10.1038/nature12221
Authors: Betsy A. Read, Jessica Kegel, Mary J. Klute, Alan Kuo, Stephane C. Lefebvre, Florian Maumus, Christoph Mayer, John Miller, Adam Monier, Asaf Salamov, Jeremy Young, Maria Aguilar, Jean-Michel Claverie, Stephan Frickenhaus, Karina Gonzalez, Emily K. Herman, Yao-Cheng Lin, Johnathan Napier, Hiroyuki Ogata, Analissa F. Sarno, Jeremy Shmutz, Declan Schroeder, Colomban de Vargas, Frederic Verret, Peter von Dassow, Klaus Valentin, Yves Van de Peer, Glen Wheeler, Joel B. Dacks, Charles F. Delwiche, Sonya T. Dyhrman, Gernot Glöckner, Uwe John, Thomas Richards, Alexandra Z. Worden, Xiaoyu Zhang, Igor V. Grigoriev
Institutions: California State University, San Marcos, Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, University of Alberta, United States Department of Energy, Joint Genome Institute, J. Craig Venter Institute, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Zoological Research Museum Alexander Koenig, Ruhr University Bochum, University of Maryland, College Park, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, University College London, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Aix-Marseille Université, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Laboratoire Information Génomique et Structurale, Hochschule Bremerhaven, Harvard University, Ghent University, VIB-UGent Center for Plant Systems Biology, Rothamsted Research, HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, Station Biologique de Roscoff, Sorbonne Université, Adaptation et Diversité en Milieu Marin, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, University of Essex, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Columbia University, University of Cologne, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Natural History Museum, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $12,690
Awards: G1286236842, G1634225273, G1848281743, G3083819904, Understanding the cellular mechanisms and constraints of coccolithophore calcification in relation to ocean pH., G4501827968, G5318939032, PML Marine Life Support System (biodiversity, marine ecology and molecular science), G5485498931, G6652958823, NERC Biomolecular Analysis Facility - Wallingford, G7205239661, G7369973299, G7475254126, CENTRE NATIONAL DE RESSOURCES BIOLOGIQUES MARINES, Designing oilseeds for nutrition and health
OpenAlex ID: W2003010041