Fishing for biodiversity: novel methanopterin-linked C sub(1) transfer genes deduced from the Sargasso Sea metagenome
The recently generated database of microbial genes from an oligotrophic environment populated by a calculated 1800 major phylotypes (the Sargasso Sea metagenome - SSM) presents a great source for expanding local databases of genes indicative of a specific function. In this article we analyse the SSM...
Saved in:
Published in | Environmental microbiology Vol. 7; no. 12; pp. 1909 - 1916 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
01.12.2005
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | The recently generated database of microbial genes from an oligotrophic environment populated by a calculated 1800 major phylotypes (the Sargasso Sea metagenome - SSM) presents a great source for expanding local databases of genes indicative of a specific function. In this article we analyse the SSM for the presence of methanopterin-linked C sub(1) transfer genes that are signature for methylotrophy. We conclude that more than 10 phylotypes possessing genes of interest are present in this environment. The sequences representative of these major phylotypes do not appear to belong to any known microbial group capable of methanopterin-linked C sub(1) transfer. Instead, these sequences separate from all known sequences on phylogenetic trees, pointing toward their affiliation with novel microbial phyla. These data imply a broader distribution of methanopterin-linked functions in the microbial world than has been previously known. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-2 |
ISSN: | 1462-2912 1462-2920 |
DOI: | 10.1111/j.1462-2920.2005.00798.x |