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Science 13 October 2006:
Vol. 314. no. 5797, p. 267
DOI: 10.1126/science.1134196
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The 160-Kilobase Genome of the Bacterial Endosymbiont Carsonella

Atsushi Nakabachi,1,2* Atsushi Yamashita,3{dagger} Hidehiro Toh,3,4{dagger} Hajime Ishikawa,5 Helen E. Dunbar,2 Nancy A. Moran,2 Masahira Hattori6,7*

Previous studies have suggested that the minimal cellular genome could be as small as 400 kilobases. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of the psyllid symbiont Carsonella ruddii, which consists of a circular chromosome of 159,662 base pairs, averaging 16.5% GC content. It is by far the smallest and most AT-rich bacterial genome yet characterized. The genome has a high coding density (97%) with many overlapping genes and reduced gene length. Genes for translation and amino acid biosynthesis are relatively well represented, but numerous genes considered essential for life are missing, suggesting that Carsonella may have achieved organelle-like status.

1 Environmental Molecular Biology Laboratory, RIKEN, Wako, Saitama 351-0198, Japan.
2 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA.
3 Kitasato Institute for Life Sciences, Kitasato University, Sagamihara, Kanagawa 228-8555, Japan.
4 Center for Basic Research, Kitasato Institute, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan.
5 School of General Education, University of the Air, Mihama, Chiba 261-8586, Japan.
6 Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8561, Japan.
7 Genome Core Technology Facility, RIKEN Genomic Sciences Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa 230-0045, Japan.

{dagger} These authors contributed equally to this work.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: bachi{at}email.arizona.edu (A.N.); hattori{at}k.u-tokyo.ac.jp (M.H.)

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