Korean Researchers Sequence Genome of Marine Bacterium H. chejuensis

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (GenomeWeb News) - Researchers at Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology have sequenced the genome of the marine bacterium Hahella chejuensis.

According to the researchers, who published their findings in the Dec. 13, 2005, issue of Nucleic Acids Research, the bacterium comprises genes that help biosynthesize a pigment that has the lytic activity against the red-tide dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides.

The scientists said they found that the 7.2-million-base-pair genome of H. chejuensis contains a multitude of genes of functional equivalence or of possible foreign origin. Functions encoded in the genomic islands include biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides, toxins, polyketides or non-ribosomal peptides, iron utilization, motility, type III protein secretion, and pigmentation.