A tribute to disorder in the genome of the bloom-forming freshwater cyanobacterium Microcystis aeruginosa.

ABSTRACT: Microcystis aeruginosa is one of the most common bloom-forming cyanobacteria in freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This species produces numerous secondary metabolites, including microcystins, which are harmful to human health. We sequenced the genomes of ten strains of M. aeruginosa in order to explore the genomic basis of their ability to occupy varied environments and proliferate. Our findings show that M. aeruginosa genomes are characterized by having a large open pangenome, and that each genome contains similar proportions of core and flexible genes. By comparing the GC content of each gene to the mean value of the whole genome, we estimated that in each genome, around 11% of the genes seem to result from recent horizontal gene transfer events. Moreover, several large gene clusters resu

SUBMITTER: Humbert JF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3741299 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature