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Science 24 March 2006:
Vol. 311. no. 5768, p. 1669
DOI: 10.1126/science.311.5768.1669e
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This Week in Science

Prochlorococcus is the most common oxyphototroph in the open ocean and plays a key role in ocean-based fixation of CO2, oceanic primary production, and the composition of the marine ecosystem. Johnson et al. (p. 1737) show that closely related strains (>97% similarity in 16S ribosomal RNA) have dramatically different distribution patterns in the water column, and indeed over the entire Atlantic Ocean. These closely related microbes appear to have ecologically distinct roles related to temperature, light, and competitors. Coleman et al. (p. 1768) analyzed two closely related Prochlorococcus strains and found that diversity was concentrated in genomic islands, putatively acquired via lateral gene transfer mediated by phage. Genomic islands may be a fundamental mechanism for niche differentiation across microbial systems (see the news story by Pennisi).




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)