eprintid: 10050546 rev_number: 22 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/05/05/46 datestamp: 2018-06-19 16:20:24 lastmod: 2021-12-16 01:44:47 status_changed: 2018-06-19 16:20:24 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Gagunashvili, AN creators_name: Andrésson, OS title: Distinctive characters of Nostoc genomes in cyanolichens ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: D13 divisions: G23 keywords: Cyanobacteria, Nostoc, Lichen,Symbiosis,Symbiotic competence note: Copyright © The Author(s) 2018. Open Access: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. abstract: Background Cyanobacteria of the genus Nostoc are capable of forming symbioses with a wide range of organism, including a diverse assemblage of cyanolichens. Only certain lineages of Nostoc appear to be able to form a close, stable symbiosis, raising the question whether symbiotic competence is determined by specific sets of genes and functionalities. Results We present the complete genome sequencing, annotation and analysis of two lichen Nostoc strains. Comparison with other Nostoc genomes allowed identification of genes potentially involved in symbioses with a broad range of partners including lichen mycobionts. The presence of additional genes necessary for symbiotic competence is likely reflected in larger genome sizes of symbiotic Nostoc strains. Some of the identified genes are presumably involved in the initial recognition and establishment of the symbiotic association, while others may confer advantage to cyanobionts during cohabitation with a mycobiont in the lichen symbiosis. Conclusions Our study presents the first genome sequencing and genome-scale analysis of lichen-associated Nostoc strains. These data provide insight into the molecular nature of the cyanolichen symbiosis and pinpoint candidate genes for further studies aimed at deciphering the genetic mechanisms behind the symbiotic competence of Nostoc. Since many phylogenetic studies have shown that Nostoc is a polyphyletic group that includes several lineages, this work also provides an improved molecular basis for demarcation of a Nostoc clade with symbiotic competence. date: 2018-06-05 date_type: published publisher: BioMed Central official_url: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4743-5 oa_status: green full_text_type: pub language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green article_type_text: Article verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1562911 doi: 10.1186/s12864-018-4743-5 lyricists_name: Gagunashvili, Andrey lyricists_id: AGAGU01 actors_name: Gagunashvili, Andrey actors_id: AGAGU01 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: BMC Genomics volume: 19 article_number: 434 issn: 1471-2164 citation: Gagunashvili, AN; Andrésson, OS; (2018) Distinctive characters of Nostoc genomes in cyanolichens. BMC Genomics , 19 , Article 434. 10.1186/s12864-018-4743-5 <https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-018-4743-5>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10050546/1/document.pdf