Papers by Bayleigh Murray
Microorganisms
In hyper-arid deserts, endolithic microbial communities survive in the pore spaces and cracks of ... more In hyper-arid deserts, endolithic microbial communities survive in the pore spaces and cracks of rocks, an environment that enhances water retention and filters UV radiation. The rock colonization zone is enriched in far-red light (FRL) and depleted in visible light. This poses a challenge to cyanobacteria, which are the primary producers of endolithic communities. Many species of cyanobacteria are capable of Far-Red-Light Photoacclimation (FaRLiP), a process in which FRL induces the synthesis of specialized chlorophylls and remodeling of the photosynthetic apparatus, providing the ability to grow in FRL. While FaRLiP has been reported in cyanobacteria from various low-light environments, our understanding of light adaptations for endolithic cyanobacteria remains limited. Here, we demonstrated that endolithic Chroococcidiopsis isolates from deserts around the world synthesize chlorophyll f, an FRL-specialized chlorophyll when FRL is the sole light source. The metagenome-assembled ge...
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bioRxiv, 2021
Cyanobacteria are essential to microbial communities inhabiting translucent rocks in hyper-arid d... more Cyanobacteria are essential to microbial communities inhabiting translucent rocks in hyper-arid deserts. Metagenomic studies revealed unique adaptations of these cyanobacteria but validation of the corresponding metabolic pathways remained challenging without access to isolates. Here we present high-quality metagenome assembled genomes for cyanobacteria, and their heterotrophic companions, isolated from endolithic substrates.
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Papers by Bayleigh Murray