Seminar Home

8 Oct

Adam Martiny

Assistant Professor, School of Physical Sciences/School of Biological Sciences, University of California Irvine

Genetic Adaptation to Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Iron Stress in Marine Cyanobacteria


Video (QuickTime)

Abstract

The marine cyanobacterium Prochlorococcus is found in many ocean regions and is a significant contributor to global ocean primary productivity. In my talk, I will first describe a global analysis of the distribution of this lineage and how it is quantitatively distributed along environmental gradients. Genome sequencing of Prochlorococcus has demonstrated a large degree of genetic variation within the group. I will describe how the presence of ecologically important genes is quite variable within Prochlorococcus lineages and are located in so-called genomic islands. As an example, Prochlorococcus cells living in regions characterized by less than 0.1 μM phosphate contain genes involved in phosphate uptake, regulation and utilization of organic phosphates whereas most of these genes are absent in cells from high P areas. Finally, I will discuss these findings in the context of predicting how ocean microbiota will respond to global climate change.

Bio

2000

M.Sc. Chemical Engineering, Technical University of Denmark

2003

Ph.D. Environmental Microbiology, Technical University of Denmark
Advisor: Soren Molin, Hans-Jorgen Albrechtsen and Erik Arvin

2003-06

Postdoctoral Researcher, Ocean Microbiology, MIT
Advisor: Sallie Chisholm

2006-present

Assistant Professor, Dept. of Earth System Science and Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Irvine

Recent Publications

Campbell, L., Williams, E., DiTullio, G.R. and A.C. Martiny. Nitrate assimilation and photophysiology in a Prochlorococcus low light ecotype. Limnol. Oceanogr., submitted. 2009.

Martiny, A.C., Kathuria, S.K., and P. Berube. Widespread metabolic potential for nitrite and nitrate assimilation among Prochlorococcus ecotypes. PNAS 106:10787-92 2009. 2009.

Martiny, A.C., Huang, Y. and W. Li. Occurrence of phosphate acquisition genes in Prochlorococcus cells from different ocean regions. Environ. Microbiol. 11:1340-47. 2009.

Martiny, A.C., Tai, A.P.K., Veneziano, D., Primeau, F. and S.W. Chisholm. Taxonomic resolution, ecotypes, and the biogeography of Prochlorococcus. Environ. Microbiol. 11:823-32. 2009.

Horner-Devine, M.C. and A.C. Martiny. News about Nitrogen. Science 320:757-758. 2008.

Kettler, G., *Martiny, A.C., Huang, K., Zucker, J., Coleman, M.L., Rodrigue, S., Chen, F., Lapidus, A., Ferriera, S., Johnson, J., Steglich, C., Richardson, P., Church, G.M. and S.W. Chisholm. Patterns and Implications of Gene Gain and Loss in the Evolution of Prochlorococcus. PLoS Genet. 3(12): e231. 2007.

Martiny, A.C., *Coleman, M.L. and S.W. Chisholm. Phosphate acquisition genes in Prochlorococcus ecotypes: Evidence for genome-wide adaptation.
PNAS 103:12552-12557. 2006.

Zhang, K., Martiny, A.C., Reppas, N.B., Barry, K.W., Malek, J., Chisholm, S.W. and G.M. Church. Sequencing of genomes from single cells with polymerase cloning. Nature Biotech., 24:680-86. 2006.

Coleman, M.L., Sullivan, M.B., Martiny, A.C., Steglich, C., DeLong, E.F., and S.W. Chisholm. Genomic islands and the ecology and evolution of Prochlorococcus.
Science 311:1768-70. 2006.

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