Phylogeny and Metabolic Potential of the Candidate Phylum SAR324 ...

• Main Authors: Malfertheiner, Lukas, Martínez-Pérez, Clara, Zhao, Zihao, Herndl, Gerhard J., Baltar, Federico
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: ETH Zurich 2022
• Subjects: microbial ecology; metagenomics; comparative genomics; phylogeny; metabolism; nutrient cycling; extreme environments; Ice Shelf; Ross Ice Shelf
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000546712; http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11850/546712

The bacterial SAR324 cluster is ubiquitous and abundant in the ocean, especially around hydrothermal vents and in the deep sea, where it can account for up to 30% of the whole bacterial community. According to a new taxonomy generated using multiple universal protein-coding genes (instead of the previously used 16S rRNA single gene marker), the former Deltaproteobacteria cluster SAR324 has been classified since 2018 as its own phylum. Yet, very little is known about its phylogeny and metabolic potential. We downloaded all publicly available SAR324 genomes (65) from all natural environments and reconstructed 18 new genomes using publicly available oceanic metagenomic data and unpublished data from the waters underneath the Ross Ice Shelf. We calculated a global SAR324 phylogenetic tree and identified six clusters (namely 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, 2C and 2D) within this clade. Genome annotation and metatranscriptome read mapping showed that SAR324 clades possess a flexible array of genes suited for survival in various ... : Biology, 11 (4) ...