Sixteen new strains of cyanobacteria have arrived at the Bristol School of Life Sciences this week from Culture Collection Yerseke in the Netherlands. They comprise a wide variety of cyanobacteria including Spirulina, Cyanothece and Pseudanabaena sp . from freshwater and marine habitats across the globe. For example, coastal regions of Portugal, New Caledonia and Australia.
These strains are currently being kept in culture and soon their DNA will be extracted, and their genomes sequenced for the first time by PhD students Joanne Boden, Dan MacRae and Elliot Druce. The purpose of this work is to gain a better understanding of the phylogeny of these strains, and how they relate to other types of cyanobacteria. As well as this, sequencing their genomes will provide a highly resolute picture of which specific genes each strain possesses, and give a much clearer understanding of what functions they may or may not be capable of undertaking in their respective environment. Cyanobacteria are one of the most diverse taxa across the globe, it is therefore vital to understand their roles and the ecosystem functions each strain provides.
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