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Title: Pan Genome of the Phytoplankton Emiliania Underpins its Global Distribution

Journal Article · · Nature (London)
OSTI ID:1241233
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  1. California State Univ. (CalState), San Marcos, CA (United States)
  2. Alfred Wegener Inst. for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany)
  3. Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, AB (Canada)
  4. USDOE Joint Genome Inst., Walnut Creek, CA (United States)
  5. J. Craig Venter Inst., San Diego, CA (United States)
  6. National Institute of Agricultural Research, Versailles (France)
  7. Alexander Koenig Research Museum, Bonn (Germany); Ruhr Univ., Bochum (Germany)
  8. Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
  9. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Inst., Moss Landing, CA (United States)
  10. Univ. College London (United Kingdom)
  11. Aix-Marseille Univ. (France)
  12. Alfred Wegener Inst. for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven (Germany); Univ. of Bremerhaven (Germany)
  13. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA (United States)
  14. Ghent Univ. (Belgium)
  15. Rothamstead Research, Harpenden (United Kingdom)
  16. USDOE Joint Genome Inst., Walnut Creek, CA (United States); HudsonAlpha Genome Sequencing Center, Huntsville, AL (United States)
  17. Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth (United Kingdom)
  18. CNRS. Univ. Pierre and Marie Curie (France).
  19. Univ. of Essex, Colchester (United Kingdom)
  20. Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Santiago (Chile)
  21. Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth (United Kingdom); Plymouth Marine Lab. (United Kingdom)
  22. Woods Hole Oceanographic Inst., MA (United States); Columbia Univ., Palisades, NY (United States)
  23. Univ. of Cologne (Germany)
  24. National History Museum, London (United Kingdom)
+ Show Author Affiliations

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 themvisible fromspace3.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 thatE. 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.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231
OSTI ID:
1241233
Report Number(s):
LBNL-7023E
Journal Information:
Nature (London), Vol. 499, Issue 209-213; ISSN 0028-0836
Publisher:
Nature Publishing Group
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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