Abstract
The Cyanophage Molecular Mixing Bowl of Photosynthesis Genes
Highlights
Among the wealth of microbial organisms inhabiting marine environments, cyanobacteria are the most abundant photosynthetic cells
Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus, the two most common cyanobacteria, account for 30% of global carbon fixation
Some viruses that infect cyanobacteria, carry genes that encode two PSII core reactioncenter proteins: PsbA and PsbD
Summary
Among the wealth of microbial organisms inhabiting marine environments, cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) are the most abundant photosynthetic cells. To determine when the PSII genes had been transferred into the phage and from where, Sullivan, Lindell, et al investigated the nucleotide sequences of psbA and psbD from both Prochlorococcus and Synechococcus host and cyanophage. Lindell, et al were able to use their dataset to investigate a previous suggestion that alterations in the nucleotide distributions within individual PSII genes (creating a kind of patchwork gene) demonstrate that intragenic recombination has taken place. They confirm that this occurs among Synechococcus myoviruses.
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