Draft genome sequence of Hahella chejuensis KCTC 2396, an extracellular polysaccharide-producing, algicidal marine bacterium

Abstract

Marine environment represents a diverse spectrum of lives full of biological and economical interests, which can be efficiently assessed through high-throughput genomic approaches. We present the genomic aspects of a novel marine bacterium Hahella chejuensis KCTC 2396, which produces extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) and a pigment showing the algicidal activity. This isolate had been proposed to be the sole member of Hahella, a new genus in the g subclass of Proteobacteria (Lee et al., 2001, IJSEM 51:661-6). About 4.5-fold coverage of shotgun sequences were assembled into 919 contigs and the genome size was estimated to be ca 7.3 Mb based on of total contig size. Among the 7,406 genes predicted by Glimmer, 63% were functionally assigned using COG database. Preliminary analysis suggests the presence of multiple gene clusters involved in biosynthesis and transport of EPS, and about a dozen of gene sets for biosynthesis of polyketides and non-ribosomal peptides. One of the striking features of H. chejuensis is the unexpected existence of two Type III protein secretion systems, which are known to be involved in transport of effector proteins into eukaryotic cells. Thus, H. chejuensis may occupy a unique ecological position in the marine environment through interactions with other higher organisms. [Support from the 21C Frontier Microbial Genomics and Applications Center Program]