Computational Molecular Biology 2025, Vol.15, No.6, 273-281 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/cmb 273 Research Insight Open Access Genome Assembly and Comparative Genomics of a Novel Extremophilic Bacterium Yinghua Chen, Hui Xiang, Zhongqi Wu Institute of Life Science, Jiyang College of Zhejiang A&F University, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China Corresponding author: zhongqi.wu@jicat.org Computational Molecular Biology, 2025, Vol.15, No.6 doi: 10.5376/cmb.2025.15.0027 Received: 07 Sep., 2025 Accepted: 20 Oct., 2025 Published: 10 Nov., 2025 Copyright © 2025 Chen et al., This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Chen Y.H., Xiang H., and Wu Z.Q., 2025, Genome assembly and comparative genomics of a novel extremophilic bacterium, Computational Molecular Biology, 15(6): 273-281 (doi: 10.5376/cmb.2025.15.0027) Abstract Extremophiles have evolved unique physiological mechanisms and genomic characteristics in extreme environments such as high salt, high temperature, high pressure, and strong acid. Studying their genetic basis is of great significance for revealing the adaptive evolution mechanisms of microorganisms and discovering functional genes with biotechnological value. This study aims to assemble and annotate the genome of a newly isolated polar bacterium and analyze its metabolic potential, environmental adaptation mechanism and evolutionary characteristics through comparative genomics. Functional annotations reveal that the genome of this strain is rich in key functional genes related to salt tolerance, heat resistance, heavy metal resistance, etc. In the comparative analysis with other known polar bacteria, conserved core gene clusters, species-specific gene islands, and the expansion of gene families in response to environmental stress were discovered. Case studies show that it has application potential in the development of industrial enzymes and the construction of synthetic biology platforms. This study provides a new genome-level perspective for understanding the adaptation mechanisms of polar microorganisms and lays a foundation for their functional exploration and application development. Keywords Polar microorganisms; Genome assembly; Comparative genomics; Salt resistance; Phylogeny 1 Introduction Not all lives are keen on the comfortable environment like a greenhouse. Some microorganisms, on the contrary, prefer high temperatures, extreme cold, strong acids, heavy salts and even radiation. These places are not suitable for most life forms, but they are common for extremist microorganisms. In environments like hot springs, polar ice caps and alkaline salt lakes, they not only survive tenaciously but also play a "behind-the-scenes role" in maintaining the ecosystem cycle. Although they seem far away from our lives, these organisms offer a window to understand the limits of life and are very inspiring for the exploration of celestial life, the development of biotechnology, and even the research of environmental restoration (Arias et al., 2023; Gomez et al., 2024). However, to figure out exactly what skills they have relied on to "survive", mere observation is far from enough. Methods such as genome assembly and comparative analysis are the true keys that enable us to enter the internal structure of their genetics. In the past, problems such as high GC content and numerous genomic duplications were indeed troublesome. Now, with high-throughput sequencing and long-read technologies, even these "tough nuts to crack" can be successfully tackled (Dong, 2024). By comparing the genomes of these extreme bacteria, not only can we identify genes related to membrane stability, DNA repair or stress response, but also some new families and mechanisms that were not previously noticed may be unearthed. Some may even change our understanding of microbial diversity and evolutionary patterns (Zhang et al., 2021a). This study will utilize the most advanced sequencing and bioinformatics methods to assemble and analyze the genome of a novel extreme microorganism isolated from a unique extreme environment, construct a high-quality genomic sequence, conduct comparative genomics analysis with related extreme microorganisms, and identify the genetic determinants of its extreme tolerance. The scientific significance of this research lies in expanding the catalogue of extremist microorganism genomes and revealing the molecular adaptation mechanisms that may have an impact on the application of biotechnology and evolutionary biology.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjQ4ODYzNA==