SGER: Construction of a Whole Genome Micro-Array for the Marine Cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus

原绿球藻是一种海洋蓝藻，是世界海洋中主要的光养菌，对海洋初级生产力的贡献高达50%。美国能源部联合基因组研究所最近完成了两个原绿球藻分离株的完整基因组序列。本研究将开发全基因组微阵列来研究这些分离株的基因表达。这项技术不仅有助于识别这些生物中序列数据库中没有同源物的众多未识别基因，而且还将提供对驱动该群体生态位多样化的环境变量的见解。原绿球藻的繁盛是由于多种生态型的存在，每种生态型都有轻微的特化，以便在略微不同的环境条件下实现最佳的繁盛。在此项目取得成功之前，将进行一项全面的研究，将该阵列应用于该生物的进化和生态学。该数组也将提供给其他人。

Prochlorococcus, a marine cyanobacterium, is a dominant phototroph in the world's oceans which contribute up to 50% of oceanic primary productivity. The complete genome sequences of two Prochlorococcus isolates have recently been completed by the Joint Genome Institute of the DOE. This study will develop complete genome microarrays to study gene expression in these isolates. This technology will not only help to identify the numerous unidentified genes in these organisms that have no homologues in sequence databases, but they will also provide insights into the environmental variables that have driven niche diversification in this group. Prochlorococcus thrives due to the existence of multiple ecotypes, each slightly specialized to thrive optimally under a slightly different set of environmental conditions. Pending the success of this project, a full-blown study will be conducted applying this array to the evolution and ecology of this organism. The array will also be made available to others.