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Proposal of fifteen new species of Parasynechococcus based on genomic, physiological and ecological features

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Abstract

Members of the recently proposed genus Parasynechococcus (Cyanobacteria) are extremely abundant throughout the global ocean and contribute significantly to global primary productivity. However, the taxonomy of these organisms remains poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to propose a new taxonomic framework for Parasynechococcus based on a genomic taxonomy approach that incorporates genomic, physiological and ecological data. Through in silico DNA–DNA hybridization, average amino acid identity, dinucleotide signatures and phylogenetic reconstruction, a total of 15 species of Parasynechococcus could be delineated. Each species was then described on the basis of their gene content, light and nutrient utilization strategies, geographical distribution patterns throughout the oceans and response to environmental parameters.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank CNPq, CAPES and FAPERJ for support.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Biologia (IB), Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    F. H. Coutinho, C. C. Thompson & F. L. Thompson

  2. Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics (CMBI), Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    F. H. Coutinho

  3. Theoretical Biology and Bioinformatics, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

    B. E. Dutilh

  4. COPPE, SAGE, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

    F. L. Thompson

  5. CCS, IB, BIOMAR, Laboratório de Microbiologia, Cidade Universitária, Av. Carlos Chagas Filho. S/N, BLOCO A (Anexo) A3 - sl 102, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21941-599, Brazil

    F. L. Thompson

Authors
  1. F. H. Coutinho
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  2. B. E. Dutilh
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  3. C. C. Thompson
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  4. F. L. Thompson
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to C. C. Thompson or F. L. Thompson.

Additional information

Communicated by Erko Stackebrandt.

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Figure S1

Heatmap displaying the relative abundance of 15 Parasynechococcus species across 191 Tara Oceans metagenomes (SVG 1531 kb)

Table S1

Dinucleotide signature distances and in silico DNA–DNA hybridization values for the 15 Parasynechococcus genomes (TSV 3 kb)

Table S2

List of orthologous groups shared by at least two of the 15 Parasynechococcus genomes. Obtained from (Coutinho et al. 2016) (TSV 440 kb)

Table S3

List of orthologous groups that are exclusive to a single of the 15 Parasynechococcus genomes. Obtained from (Coutinho et al. 2016) (TSV 451 kb)

Table S4

Spearman correlation scores and associated p values between sample positioning along PC1 and PC2 and measured environmental parameters (TSV 2 kb)

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Coutinho, F.H., Dutilh, B.E., Thompson, C.C. et al. Proposal of fifteen new species of Parasynechococcus based on genomic, physiological and ecological features. Arch Microbiol 198, 973–986 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-016-1256-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00203-016-1256-y

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