Candidatus Aquarickettsia rohweri strain:a_cerv_44 Genome sequencing and assembly. Candidatus Aquarickettsia rohweri strain:a_cerv_44

We report here the genome of a ubiquitous and novel Rickettsiales species that associates with marine invertebrates. We previously showed that this bacterium was found in scleractinian corals, stimulated by nutrients, and associated with reduced host growth and increased mortality. Genome assembly from a coral metagenome demonstrates that this bacterium, like other Rickettsiales, has a reduced genome indicative of a parasitic lifestyle. Phylogenetic analysis places this Rickettsiales within a new genus we define as “Candidatus Marinoinvertebrata.” Using the Earth Microbiome Project database, we also demonstrated that members of “Candidatus Marinoinvertebrata” are found globally in dozens of marine invertebrate lineages.