SAR11 Genome Atlas: a genome and gene catalog for functional profiling of the most abundant bacterial clade in the ocean

The SAR11 Genome Atlas integrates 542 SAR11 genomes, including all 132 cultured strain genomes, into an OG-centered web resource linking genes to expression, synteny, phylogeny, and predicted protein structure.

• Why it matters: Many SAR11 genes remain functionally uncharacterized, limiting genomic, functional, and ecological analyses of this highly abundant ocean clade and the ability to generate gene-linked ecological hypotheses.
• What they did: The atlas provides interactive ortholog group catalogs with functional annotations, synteny, phylogenetic distribution, metatranscriptomic expression, and predicted protein structure, then uses environmental expression profiles and phylogenetic module analyses to link OGs to high-latitude and oceanographic contexts.
• The result: It recovers OGs known for cold adaptation, proposes a functional hypothesis for an uncharacterized protein, and identifies mutually exclusive functional modules for Mn/Zn homeostasis and phosphate acquisition associated with distinct oceanographic environments.