Members of the marine Roseobacter clade are major participants in global carbon and sulfur cycles. While roseobacters are well represented in cultures, several abundant pelagic lineages, including SAG-O19, DC5-80-3, and NAC11-7, remain largely uncultivated and show evidence of genome streamlining. Here, we analyzed the partial genomes of three single cells affiliated with CHAB-I-5, another abundant but exclusively uncultivated Roseobacter lineage. Members of this lineage encode several metabolic potentials that are absent in streamlined genomes. Examples are quorum sensing and type VI secretion systems, which enable them to effectively interact with host and other bacteria. Further analysis of the CHAB-I-5 single-cell amplified genomes (SAGs) predicted that this lineage comprises members with relatively large genomes (4.1 to 4.4 Mbp) and a high fraction of noncoding DNA (10 to 12%), which is similar to what is observed in many cultured, nonstreamlined Roseobacter lineages. The four uncultured lineages, while exhibiting highly variable geographic distributions, together represent >60% of the global pelagic roseobacters. They are consistently enriched in genes encoding the capabilities of light harvesting, oxidation of "energy-rich" reduced sulfur compounds and methylated amines, uptake and catabolism of various carbohydrates and osmolytes, and consumption of abundant exudates from phytoplankton. These traits may define the global prevalence of the four lineages among marine bacterioplankton.
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