Genomic Annotation of Harmful Algal Blooms

Summary: The term “harmful alga” covers an evolutionary disparate group of organisms that employ many different chemical and cellular mechanism to produce a stunning diversity of toxicants. As such many different approaches and technical approaches will be needed to address the myriad of chemicals harmful algal employ. With the ever-decreasing cost of DNA sequencing, even large genomes (such as those of harmful algal bloom producing dinoflagellates) is now feasible, and by comparison genome sequencing of harmful bacteria that cause blooms (blue green algae) is very inexpensive. Supporting a major sequencing effort of the genomes of these organisms, followed by good gene annotation, would illuminate how the toxicants are produced and how they might be controlled. The effort envisioned would be something similar to what DOE has done at the Joint Genome Institute with sequencing genomes of interest to the energy industry. 

Sector: Academia
Organization: University of North Carolina Wilmington
POC: Ken Halanych, halanychk@uncw.edu
Other Contacts: Chris Blanco, Blancoc@uncw.edu