Query: NC_006576:217697 Synechococcus elongatus PCC 6301, complete genome Lineage: Synechococcus elongatus; Synechococcus; Synechococcaceae; Chroococcales; Cyanobacteria; Bacteria General Information: Freshwater organism. These unicellular cyanobacteria are also known as blue green algae and along with Prochlorococcus are responsible for a large part of the carbon fixation that occurs in marine environments. Synechococcus have a broader distribution in the ocean and are less abundant in oligotrophic (low nutrient) regions. These organism utilize photosystem I and II to capture light energy. They are highly adapted to marine environments and some strains have evolved unique motility systems in order to propel themselves towards areas that contain nitrogenous compounds. An obligate photoautotroph, it has been studied extensively by an international research community with respect to acquisition of organic carbon, transport and regulation of nitrogen compounds, adaptation to nutrient stresses, and reponse to light intensity.
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General Information: This red-pigmented organism's name means "strange berry that withstands radiation", marking the fact that this organism is one of the most radiation-resistant known. It can tolerate radiation levels at 1000 times the levels that would kill a human and it was originally isolated in 1956 from a can of meat that had been irradiated with X-rays. The resistance to radiation may reflect its resistance to dessication, which also causes DNA damage. This organism may be of use in cleaning up toxic metals found at nuclear weapons production sites due to the radiation resistance. This bacterium is also a highly efficient transformer, and can readily take up exogenous DNA from the environment, which may also aid DNA repair. This organism carries multiple copies of many DNA repair genes, suggesting a robust system for dealing with DNA damage. The recombination system may rely on multiple copies of various repeat elements found throughout the genome.