Trophic Specialization Results in Genomic Reduction in Free-Living Marine Idiomarina Bacteria

Abstract

The streamlining hypothesis is usually used to explain the genomic reduction events in free-living bacteria like SAR11. However, we find that the genomic reduction phenomenon in the bacterial genus Idiomarina is different from that in SAR11. Therefore, we propose a new hypothesis to explain genomic reduction in this genus based on trophic specialization that could result in genomic reduction, which would be not uncommon in nature. Not only can the trophic specialization hypothesis explain the genomic reduction in the genus Idiomarina , but it also sheds new light on our understanding of the genomic reduction processes in other free-living bacterial lineages.