Scientists use new method to tease out the genome of a relatively unknown marine microorganism, Euryarchaeota, from seawater

A collaborative team of oceanographers and computer scientists has sequenced the genome of marine Euryarchaeota from seawater – an achievement that has led to a publication in the journal Science. The team, including CIFAR oceanographer Virginia Armbrust, collected seawater from Puget Sound near Seattle and then filtered it so that it only contained very tiny microorganisms.

From this mixture of genetic material, they were able to tease out and reconstruct the genome belonging to one organism, which they identified as Euryarchaeota. From the genome, the team could tell that the organism is able to move on its own, obtain energy from the sun, and break down proteins and fats.

The team’s work provides insights into the mysterious community of marine microorganisms. It also demonstrates that scientists can untangle the genome of single organisms from a mixture of genomes, all from an environmental sample like seawater. Read more