4 March 2004
Sequencing the unknown
A new study, the first to involve sequencing of uncultured microorganisms from environmental samples, shows the value of using genomics to study organisms that have not been cultured in the laboratory. Acid-rich waters leaching from the Richmond pyrite ore mine, hundreds of feet below Iron Mountain in California, contain a microbial community called a biofilm. This consists of both bacteria and archaea, a distinct microbial group that includes many organisms tolerant of extreme conditions. Complete genome sequences have been determined for a bacterium (Leptospirillum) and an archaean (Ferroplasma) from the mine. Both possess genes for carbon and nitrogen fixation pathways, and for energy generation, suitable for survival in this extreme environment.
Community structure and metabolism through reconstruction
of microbial genomes from the environment
GENE W. TYSON, JARROD CHAPMAN, PHILIP HUGENHOLTZ,
ERIC E. ALLEN, RACHNA J. RAM, PAUL M. RICHARDSON, VICTOR V. SOLOVYEV,
EDWARD M. RUBIN, DANIEL S. ROKHSAR & JILLIAN F. BANFIELD
Nature 428, 37–43 (2004); doi:10.1038/nature02340
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Microbiology: Reconstructing the wild types
EDWARD F. DELONG
A challenging way to characterize the world's naturally occurring microbes
is to piece together whole genomes from complex communities. An unusually
acidic microbial habitat provides the setting for a ranging shot on that
target.
Nature 428, 25–26 (2004); doi:10.1038/428025a
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