Final Report: Transport and its regulation in Marine Microorganisms: A Genomic Based Approach

This grant funded the analysis and annotation of the genomes of Synechococcus and Ostreococcus, major marine primary producers. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of transporters using state of the art bioinformatics analyses. During the analysis of the Synechococcus genome, some of the components of the unique bacterial swimming apparatus of one species of Synechococcus (Clade III, strain WH8102) were determined and these included transporters, novel giant proteins and glycosyltransferases. This grant funded the analysis of gene expression in Synechococcus using whole genome microarrays. These analyses revealed the strategies by which marine cyanobacteria respond to environmental conditions such as the absence of phosphorus, a common limiting nutrient, and the interaction of Synechococcus with other microbes. These analyses will help develop models of gene regulation in cyanobacteria and thus help predict their responses to changes in environmental conditions