Core Genome of Deinococcota Phylum from 72 Strains Across 40 Species Consist of Only One Gene, Beta Subunit of DNA-Directed RNA Polymerase

Aaron KY Lum^1,2, Josephine H Shanmugam^1,2, Waylen Teo^1,2, Zhao Jie Kwan^1,2, Shaunnessy MH Ng^1,2 and Maurice HT Ling^1,2,3*
¹School of Life Sciences, Management Development Institute of Singapore, Singapore
²Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, United Kingdom
³HOHY PTE LTD, Singapore
*Corresponding Author: Maurice HT Ling, School of Life Sciences, Management Development Institute of Singapore, Singapore; Department of Applied Sciences, Northumbria University, United Kingdom; HOHY PTE LTD, Singapore.

Published: January 24, 2024

DOI: 10.55162/MCMI.03.047

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Abstract  

Deinococcota, or Deinococcus-Thermus, is a phylum of highly environmentally tolerant extremophiles with value in industrial applications and evolution studies. Phylogenetics using core genome is an important aspect of evolutionary studies. However, the core genome of Deinococcota phylum has not yet been identified. In this study, we report 6 species-specific core genomes of Deinococcota. However, the core genome of Deinococcota from 72 strains across 40 species consist of only one gene - beta subunit of DNA-directed RNA polymerase. This surprisingly small core genome may be the result of tolerance to diverse environments and may suggest that sequence similarity alone may not be sufficient enough to identify core genomes.

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