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Millimeter-scale genetic gradients and community-level molecular convergence in a hypersaline microbial mat

Published in:

Mol Syst Biol 4 , 198 ( 2008)

Author(s):

Kunin, V., Raes, J., Harris, J. K., Spear, J. R., Walker, J. J., Ivanova, N., von Mering, C., Bebout, B. M., Pace, N. R., Bork, P., Hugenholtz, P.

DOI:

10.1038/msb.2008.35

Abstract:

To investigate the extent of genetic stratification in structured microbial communities, we compared the metagenomes of 10 successive layers of a phylogenetically complex hypersaline mat from Guerrero Negro, Mexico. We found pronounced millimeter-scale genetic gradients that were consistent with the physicochemical profile of the mat. Despite these gradients, all layers displayed near-identical and acid-shifted isoelectric point profiles due to a molecular convergence of amino-acid usage, indicating that hypersalinity enforces an overriding selective pressure on the mat community.

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