Draft genome sequences of three filamentous cyanobacteria isolated from brackish habitats

Abstract

Brackish cyanobacterial genome sequences are relatively rare. Here, we report the 5.5 Mbp, 5.8 Mbp and 6.1 Mbp draft genomes of Spirulina sp. CCY15215, Leptolyngbya sp. CCY15150 and Halomicronema sp. CCY15110 isolated from coastal microbial mats on the North Sea beach of the island of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands. Large scale phylogenomic analyses reveal that Spirulina sp. CCY15215 is a large cell diameter cyanobacterium, whereas Leptolyngbya sp. CCY15150 and Halomicronema sp. CCY15110 are the first reported brackish genomes belonging to the LPP clade consisting primarily of Leptolyngbya, Plectonema and Phormidium spp. Further genome mining divulges that all new draft genomes contain, ggpS and ggpP, the genes responsible for synthesising glucosylglycerol (GG), a compatible solute found in moderately salt-tolerant cyanobacteria.