Microbial Genome Sequencing: Sequencing and Analysis of the Syntrophus Aciditrophicus Genome

博士们已获得一笔赠款。加州大学洛杉矶分校的Robert P. Gunsalus和俄克拉何马大学的Michael J. McInerney获得并分析了嗜酸营养菌合养菌的基因组序列。这种微生物代表了一种未被充分研究的厌氧细菌（仅在缺氧条件下繁殖的微生物），在自然和人为环境中的厌氧食物链中起着重要作用。它与其他厌氧微生物共生，将多种芳香族和脂肪族化合物降解为无机物质，从而完成地球上的碳氮循环。这个项目的目标由四个部分组成。首先是使用最先进的DNA测序方法生成一个粗略组装的嗜酸嗜营养菌基因组序列。然后，序列的间隙将被关闭，以提供完整的DNA分子。其中包含的基因将使用自动和手工编辑方法的组合来识别和注释其功能。最后，我们将对基因组信息进行进一步分析，最终重建S. aciditrophicus基因组编码的代谢途径。嗜酸梭菌基因组序列和相关基因注释将提供给科学界和公众，以帮助解决各种具有社会重要性的问题，并在此过程中，也将用于培养微生物基因组分析的研究生。预计这些将包括识别与环境中天然和人造化合物厌氧分解有关的微生物生物化学和生理学的新方面的能力。这些信息将揭示这些微生物中以前未知的途径，以及它们如何在必要和复杂的厌氧生态系统中使用。由于这些信息应该对我们了解这些微生物的功能有广泛的影响，它应该使我们能够提高农业、工业和自然资源的生产力和可持续性。最后，嗜酸嗜营养菌基因组分析将为这类微生物的内容和进化提供独特的见解。

A grant has been awarded to Drs. Robert P. Gunsalus, University of California, Los Angeles and Michael J. McInerney, University of Oklahoma to obtain and analyze the genome sequence the bacterium, Syntrophus aciditrophicus. This microorganism represents an understudied class of anaerobic bacteria (microbes that thrive only in the absence of oxygen) that serve essential roles in the anaerobic food chains in natural and man-made environments. It functions in symbiotic partnership with other anaerobic microorganisms to degrade a variety of aromatic and aliphatic compounds to inorganic materials, thus completing the carbon and nitrogen cycles on earth. The goals of this project consist of four parts. The first is to generate a roughly assembled genome sequence of S. aciditrophicus using state of the art DNA sequencing methods. Gaps in sequences will then be closed to provide a completed DNA molecule. The genes contained therein will be identified and annotated for their function(s) using a combination of automated and hand-editing methods. Finally, the genomic information will be further analyzed with the final aim to reconstruct the metabolic pathways encoded in the S. aciditrophicus genome. The S. aciditrophicus genome sequence and associated gene annotations will be made available to the scientific community and general public to help address a variety of issues of societal importance, and in the process, will also be used to train graduate students in microbial genome analysis. It is anticipated that these will include the ability to identify new and novel aspects of microbial biochemistry and physiology related to anaerobic decomposition of natural as well as man-made compounds in the environment. The information will reveal previously unknown pathways in these microorganisms and how they are used in essential and complex anaerobic ecosystems. Since this information should have a wide impact on our understanding how these microbes function, it should allow us to improve the productivity and sustainability of agricultural, industrial, and natural resources. Lastly, the S. aciditrophicus genome analysis should provide unique insight into the content and evolution of this essential class of microorganisms.