title: Cold adaptive traits revealed by comparative genomic analysis of the eurypsychrophile Rhodococcus sp. JG3 isolated from high elevation McMurdo Dry Valley permafrost, Antarctica.
abstract: The permafrost soils of the high elevation McMurdo Dry Valleys are the most cold, desiccating and oligotrophic on Earth. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 is one of very few bacterial isolates from Antarctic Dry Valley permafrost, and displays subzero growth down to -5°C. To understand how Rhodococcus sp. JG3 is able to survive extreme permafrost conditions and be metabolically active at subzero temperatures, we sequenced its genome and compared it to the genomes of 14 mesophilic rhodococci. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 possessed a higher copy number of genes for general stress response, UV protection and protection from cold shock, osmotic stress and oxidative stress. We characterized genome wide molecular adaptations to cold, and identified genes that had amino acid compositions favourable for increased flexibility and functionality at low temperatures. Rhodococcus sp. JG3 possesses multiple complimentary strategies which may enable its survival in some of the harshest permafrost on Earth.
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada jacqueline.goordial@mail.mcgill.ca.
authors.forename: Jacqueline
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goordial
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Raymond-Bouchard
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Yevgen
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zolotarov
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Bethencourt
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ronholm
authors.affiliation: DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Shapiro
authors.affiliation: DOE Joint Genome Institute, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
authors.forename: Tanja
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Woyke
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stromvik
authors.affiliation: National Research Council Canada, Montreal, QC H4P2R2, Canada.
authors.forename: Charles W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Greer
authors.affiliation: Altoona College, Pennsylvania State University, Altoona, PA 16801, USA.
authors.forename: Corien
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bakermans
authors.affiliation: McGill University, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X3V9, Canada.
authors.forename: Lyle
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Whyte
mesh_terms: D000064:Acclimatization / Q000235:genetics*; D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001483:Base Sequence; D003080:Cold Temperature; D058639:Cold-Shock Response / Q000235:genetics*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D023281:Genomics; D009997:Osmotic Pressure; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics; D065946:Permafrost / Q000382:microbiology*; D012240:Rhodococcus / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D004269:DNA, Bacterial
keywords: Antarctica; Rhodococcus; cryophile; eurypsychrophile; genome sequence; permafrost; subzero