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Microglena sp. YARC
Micrographs of Microglena sp. YARC. Photo credit: Xiaowen Zhang.

The Microglena sp. YARC genome sequence and gene models were not determined by the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), but were provided by Naihao Ye, Xiaowen Zhang, and Thomas Mock. The genome is available on NCBI under the Bioproject Accession PRJNA787402. In order to allow comparative analyses with other algal genomes sequenced by the JGI, a copy of this genome is incorporated into PhycoCosm. Please note that this copy of the genome is not maintained by NCBI and is therefore not automatically updated. The JGI Annotation Pipeline was used to add functional annotation to this genome.

Microscopic polar green algae significantly contribute to the primary production of polar ecosystems on land and in the oceans. Hence, they form the basis of the polar food web together with other primary producers such as diatoms, dinoflagellates, prymnesiophytes, and cyanobacteria. Only recently, the first genomes of polar microalgae became available. Hence, these data provide exciting opportunities to reveal the secrets of algal life under sub-zero temperatures and extreme seasonality of solar irradiance including the dark polar winter.

Microglena sp. YARC was isolated from the Southern Ocean (Antarctica) and therefore this algal species represents a member of marine chlorophytes. Green algae have a worldwide distribution and the species Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which is a relative of Microglena sp. YARC, serves as a model in the field of basic and applied algal and plant research. Microglena sp. YARC is among the first polar green algal species for which genomes have become available. It therefore will serve as a model for comparative genomics to reveal evolutionary mechanisms underpinning the adaptation of important primary producers to polar environmental conditions.

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