From deep-sea exploration to deep sequencing: The lost world of bioactive compounds. Lacinutrix sp. WUR7

Extreme environments such as the Antarctic harbour a diverse range of microorganisms that have over the course of evolution developed molecular adaptations to these cold environments. The unique metabolism of these microorganisms includes secondary metabolites that have been reported to possess several bioactivities. In this study the microbial diversity and metabolic potential of Antarctic deep-sea sediments will be explored for pharmaceutical and biotechnological applications.Applying third-generation DNA sequencing technology to investigate 1) the metabolic and bioactive potential 2) and taxonomic classification of potentially new Antarctic deep-sea microbial strains.Using Pacific Bioscience's RSII single-molecule, real-time (SMRT) technology we aim to conduct de novo whole genome sequencing (WGS) of these isolates. Generating long read, complete genome sequence data will allow us to more accurately resolve species identification, and to further investigate large biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) including non-ribosomal peptides (NRPs) and polyketide synthases (PKS).