environmental Neisseriaceae bacteria OTU5 Metagenomic assembly
In this study, we identify an environmental bacterium, which based on the 16S rRNA amplicons is a significant component of rodent fur microbiome, and which could potentially serve as a source of symbionts in rodent lice. Phylogenetic analysis placed this bacterium in Neisseriaceae, as the closest relative to several symbionts found in rodent lice. The occurrence of the closely related Neisseriaceae symbionts in phylogenetically distant lice suggests that the symbioses were established in several independent evolutionary events, most likely from the same environmental source. We assembled genome drafts of this environmental bacterium from three different rodent hosts (Microtus arvalis, Clethrionomys glareolus, and Apodemus arvalis). The sizes of the tree drafts converged to approx 1.4 Mbp, a remarkably small size, slightly smaller than the genomes of the related symbionts.