title: Comparative genomics uncovers the prolific and distinctive metabolic potential of the cyanobacterial genusMoorea.
abstract: Cyanobacteria are major sources of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon in nature. In addition to the importance of their primary metabolism, some cyanobacteria are prolific producers of unique and bioactive secondary metabolites. Chemical investigations of the cyanobacterial genusMooreahave resulted in the isolation of over 190 compounds in the last two decades. However, preliminary genomic analysis has suggested that genome-guided approaches can enable the discovery of novel compounds from even well-studiedMooreastrains, highlighting the importance of obtaining complete genomes. We report a complete genome of a filamentous tropical marine cyanobacterium,Moorea producensPAL, which reveals that about one-fifth of its genome is devoted to production of secondary metabolites, an impressive four times the cyanobacterial average. Moreover, possession of the complete PAL genome has allowed improvement to the assembly of three otherMooreadraft genomes. Comparative genomics revealed that they are remarkably similar to one another, despite their differences in geography, morphology, and secondary metabolite profiles. Gene cluster networking highlights that this genus is distinctive among cyanobacteria, not only in the number of secondary metabolite pathways but also in the content of many pathways, which are potentially distinct from all other bacterial gene clusters to date. These findings portend that future genome-guided secondary metabolite discovery and isolation efforts should be highly productive.
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: Tiago
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Leao
authors.affiliation: Climate, Atmospheric Sciences, and Physical Oceanography, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: Guilherme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Castelão
authors.affiliation: Department of Statistical Modelling, St. Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 198504, Russia.|Center for Algorithmic Biotechnology, St. Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg 198504, Russia.
authors.forename: Anton
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2937-9259
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Korobeynikov
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, William Paterson University, Wayne, NJ 07470.
authors.forename: Emily A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Monroe
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: Sheila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Podell
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: Evgenia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Glukhov
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: Eric E
authors.initials: EE
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.|Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093.
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Gerwick
authors.affiliation: Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093; lgerwick@ucsd.edu.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gerwick
mesh_terms: D001482:Base Composition; D000458:Cyanobacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism*; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D023281:Genomics / Q000379:methods; D055442:Metabolome; D055432:Metabolomics / Q000379:methods; D005810:Multigene Family; D009586:Nitrogen Fixation; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny
keywords: biosynthetic gene clusters; gene cluster network; genome comparison; heterocyst glycolipids; tropical marine cyanobacteria