Nostoc Genome Announcement
Faculty Mentor
Jessica L Allen
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
5-7-2024 10:20 AM
End Date
5-7-2024 10:40 AM
Location
PAT 326
Primary Discipline of Presentation
Biology
Abstract
Cyanobacteria and their associated lichen fungi have been historically understudied, but their genomes often code for unique and potentially useful secondary metabolites due to the demands of their variable life strategies. In this paper we characterize a newly sequenced Nostoc genome. The sample was sequences as part of the metagenome of the critically endangered foliose lichen Sticta deyana. The genome is 7,150,624 base pairs long and encodes 7,494 genes. We annotated the genome using Prokka and compared it to 20 other lichen cyanobiont Nostoc genomes downloaded from the RefSeq library using Compute Pangenome in KBASE and OrthoFinder. We then assessed the potential bioactive contents of the genome by running analyses in antiSMASH and BIGFAM. The genome contains 12 gene regions predicted to be biosynthetic gene clusters (BCGs), one of which is a 100% match for a cluster that codes for heterocyst glycolipids. Approximately eighty percent of the genes in the genome, including the BCGs, are classified as ‘putative’ function, and are therefore dissimilar to any previously characterized genes. Twenty percent of the genes are classified as core, meaning that they are somewhat structurally similar to previously characterized genes. None of the BGCs were considered to be very structurally similar to previously characterized BGCs. These results indicate that our Nostoc contains many novel genes performing as yet unidentified functions. More research is needed to further characterize the novel BGC structures and further investigate their secondary metabolites.
Recommended Citation
Larsen, Elaine M. and Morrison, Carissa, "Nostoc Genome Announcement" (2024). 2024 Symposium. 4.
https://dc.ewu.edu/srcw_2024/op_2024/o3_2024/4
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Nostoc Genome Announcement
PAT 326
Cyanobacteria and their associated lichen fungi have been historically understudied, but their genomes often code for unique and potentially useful secondary metabolites due to the demands of their variable life strategies. In this paper we characterize a newly sequenced Nostoc genome. The sample was sequences as part of the metagenome of the critically endangered foliose lichen Sticta deyana. The genome is 7,150,624 base pairs long and encodes 7,494 genes. We annotated the genome using Prokka and compared it to 20 other lichen cyanobiont Nostoc genomes downloaded from the RefSeq library using Compute Pangenome in KBASE and OrthoFinder. We then assessed the potential bioactive contents of the genome by running analyses in antiSMASH and BIGFAM. The genome contains 12 gene regions predicted to be biosynthetic gene clusters (BCGs), one of which is a 100% match for a cluster that codes for heterocyst glycolipids. Approximately eighty percent of the genes in the genome, including the BCGs, are classified as ‘putative’ function, and are therefore dissimilar to any previously characterized genes. Twenty percent of the genes are classified as core, meaning that they are somewhat structurally similar to previously characterized genes. None of the BGCs were considered to be very structurally similar to previously characterized BGCs. These results indicate that our Nostoc contains many novel genes performing as yet unidentified functions. More research is needed to further characterize the novel BGC structures and further investigate their secondary metabolites.
