Scientists discovered more than 6 million new genes, thousands of protein families, and specifically the characterization of thousands of protein kinases from ocean microbes, during an ocean expedition aimed at determining if bacteria and virus life in the seas can offer new ideas for alternative energy production and solutions to environmental issues.
Researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) sailed and collected samples across over 8,000 km transect from the North Atlantic through the Panama Canal and ending in the South Pacific yielded an extensive dataset consisting of 7.7 million sequencing reads (6.3 billion bp). The resulting 7.7 million sequencing reads provide an unprecedented look at the incredible diversity and heterogeneity in naturally occurring microbial populations.
Reporting in PLoS Biology, the scientists say that the Sorcerer II Global Ocean Sampling Expedition (GOS) nearly doubles the number of previously known proteins. The researchers used this data to better understand the genomic structure and evolution of microorganisms, as well as the function of important protein families such as protein kinases, which are key regulators of cellular function in all organisms.
The Sorcerer II Expedition began with a pilot project in 2003 in the Sargasso Sea near Bermuda in which more than one million new genes and hundreds of new photoreceptors were discovered in what was thought to be an area of low diversity. The GOS publication is a result of ocean water sampling conducted from Halifax, Nova Scotia to the Eastern Tropical Pacific during the two-year circumnavigation.
"This publication is not only providing an unprecedented level of new genes and protein family discoveries, but is also pivotal in that we have provided compelling analysis of evolution and function of these genes and proteins within the larger context of organisms interacting with their environment," notes J. Craig Venter, Ph.D., founder and chairman of the Institute. "Given the findings, it's clear that we've only begun to scratch the surface of understanding the microbial world around us."
The researchers also identified about 1,700 protein families that didn't match any previously known proteins, including some that protect the microbes from damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the United States Department of Energy, Office of Science, funded the sequencing and analysis of the Expedition. The JCVI funded the operation of the vessel.
Source : PLoS Biology Website
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