The Calyptogena magnifica Chemoautotrophic Symbiont Genome
I. L. G. Newton,1
T. Woyke,2
T. A. Auchtung,1
G. F. Dilly,1
R. J. Dutton,3
M. C. Fisher,1
K. M. Fontanez,1
E. Lau,1
F. J. Stewart,1
P. M. Richardson,2
K. W. Barry,2
E. Saunders,2
J. C. Detter,2
D. Wu,4
J. A. Eisen,5
C. M. Cavanaugh1*
Chemoautotrophic endosymbionts are the metabolic cornerstone of hydrothermal vent communities, providing invertebrate hosts with nearly all of their nutrition. The Calyptogena magnifica (Bivalvia: Vesicomyidae) symbiont, Candidatus Ruthia magnifica, is the first intracellular sulfur-oxidizing endosymbiont to have its genome sequenced, revealing a suite of metabolic capabilities. The genome encodes major chemoautotrophic pathways as well as pathways for biosynthesis of vitamins, cofactors, and all 20 amino acids required by the clam.
1 Harvard University, 16 Divinity Avenue, Biolabs 4080, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
2 Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute, 2800 Mitchell Drive, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, USA.
3 Harvard Medical School, Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, 200 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
4 Institute for Genomic Research, 9712 Medical Center Drive, Rockville, MD 20850, USA.
5 University of California, Davis Genome Center, Genome and Biomedical Sciences Facility, Room 5311, 451 East Health Sciences Drive, Davis, CA 95616–8816, USA
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: cavanaug{at}fas.harvard.edu
