Pan genome of the phytoplankton Emiliania underpins its global distribution
Creators: name: Read, Betsy A.
name: Kegel, Jessica
name: Klute, Mary J.
name: Kuo, Alan
name: Lefebvre, Stephane C.
name: Maumus, Florian
name: Mayer, Christoph
name: Miller, John
name: Monier, Adam
name: Salamov, Asaf
name: Young, Jeremy
name: Aguilar, Maria
name: Claverie, Jean-Michel
name: Frickenhaus, Stephan
name: Gonzalez, Karina
name: Herman, Emily K.
name: Lin, Yao-Cheng
name: Napier, Johnathan
name: Ogata, Hiroyuki
name: Sarno, Analissa F.
name: Shmutz, Jeremy
name: Schroeder, Declan
name: De Vargas, Colomban
name: Verret, Frederic
name: Von Dassow, Peter
name: Valentin, Klaus
name: Van De Peer, Yves
name: Wheeler, Glen
name: Allen, Andrew E.
name: Bidle, Kay
name: Borodovsky, Mark
name: Bowler, Chris
name: Brownlee, Colin
name: Cock, J. Mark
name: Elias, Marek
name: Gladyshev, Vadim N.
name: Groth, Marco
name: Guda, Chittibabu
name: Hadaegh, Ahmad
name: Iglesias-Rodriguez, Maria Debora
name: Jenkins, Jerry
name: Jones, Bethan M.
name: Lawson, Tracy
name: Leese, Florian
name: Lindquist, Erika
name: Lobanov, Alexei
name: Lomsadze, Alexandre
name: Malik, Shehre-Banoo
name: Marsh, Mary E.
name: Mackinder, Luke
name: Mock, Thomas
name: Mueller-Roeber, Bernd
name: Pagarete, António
name: Parker, Micaela
name: Probert, Ian
name: Quesneville, Hadi
name: Raines, Christine
name: Rensing, Stefan A.
name: Riaño-Pachón, Diego Mauricio
name: Richier, Sophie
name: Rokitta, Sebastian
name: Shiraiwa, Yoshihiro
name: Van Der Giezen, Mark
name: Soanes, Darren M.
name: Wahlund, Thomas M.
name: Williams, Bryony
name: Wilson, Willie
name: Wolfe, Gordon
name: Wurch, Louie L.
name: Dacks, Joel B.
name: Delwiche, Charles F.
name: Dyhrman, Sonya
name: Glöckner, Gernot
name: John, Uwe
name: Richards, Thomas
name: Worden, Alexandra Z.
name: Zhang, Xiaoyu
name: Grigoriev, Igor V.
Publisher: name: Columbia University
Year: 2013
Subjects: Marine biology
Marine ecology
Paleontology

description: Coccolithophores have influenced the global climate for over 200 million years. These marine phytoplankton can account for 20 percent of total carbon fixation in some systems. They form blooms that can occupy hundreds of thousands of square kilometres and are distinguished by their elegantly sculpted calcium carbonate exoskeletons (coccoliths), rendering them visible from space. Although coccolithophores export carbon in the form of organic matter and calcite to the sea floor, they also release CO2 in the calcification process. Hence, they have a complex influence on the carbon cycle, driving either CO2 production or uptake, sequestration and export to the deep ocean. Here we report the first haptophyte reference genome, from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi strain CCMP1516, and sequences from 13 additional isolates. Our analyses reveal a pan genome (core genes plus genes distributed variably between strains) probably supported by an atypical complement of repetitive sequence in the genome. Comparisons across strains demonstrate that E. huxleyi, which has long been considered a single species, harbours extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires. Genome variability within this species complex seems to underpin its capacity both to thrive in habitats ranging from the equator to the subarctic and to form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environmental conditions.