Genome For An Endosymbiont

i-38fe6d88980c889f3dd481c6c7eb7929-315_998_F1.gif

Fig. 1. A circular representation of the R. magnifica genome. The innermost circle highlights genes of special interest: cbb (Calvin-Benson-Bassham cycle, red), sox (sulfur oxidation, green), dsr (dissimilatory sulfite reductase, blue), and rnf (NADH dehydrogenase). The second and third circles show GC skew and %G+C, respectively. The distribution of genes is depicted on the two outer rings (fourth and fifth, forward and reverse, respectively) colored by role category. [View Larger Version of this Image (273K JPEG file)]

From Newton and colleagues...

The Calyptogena magnifica (Bivalvia: Vesicomyidae) symbiont, Candidatus Ruthia magnifica, is the first intracellular sulfur-oxidizing endosymbiont to have its genome sequenced, revealing a suite of metabolic capabilities. The genome encodes major chemoautotrophic pathways as well as pathways for biosynthesis of vitamins, cofactors, and all 20 amino acids required by the clam.

More like this

A new study by Sarah Moffitt, Tessa Hill, Peter Roopnarine, and James Kennett (Response of seafloor ecosystems to abrubt global climate change) gets a handle on the effects of relatively rapid warming and associated Oxygen loss in the sea on invertebrate communities. The study looked at a recent…
As Lynn Margulis elegantly explained, some eukaryotic organelles -- such as mitochondria and chloroplasts -- are the product of an ancient endosymbiosis event. Free living prokaryotes were absorbed by primitive eukaryotes and, over many generations, become entangled in an obligate host-symbiont…
A reader sent in this question regarding our continuing conversation about how birds burn proteins to conserve water during long distance migrations: "It's not immediately clear to me how burning intracellular proteins is going to automatically "free up" much water. I do know that burning fat…
This week's phylogeny takes a look at the green portion of the eukaryotic tree. These are the eukaryotes capable of photosynthesis. Eukaryotes first obtained the ability to perform photosynthesis when a eukaryotic cell absorbed a photosynthetic cyanobacterium. This was followed by a few subsequent…