General Trends in the Organization and Localization of crt-Clusters in Streptomyces Genomes

The purposes of the study were to identify the presence of common principles in the organization of crt-clusters in Streptomyces and their localization in genomes and to confirm similarities in the organization of crt clusters in phylogenetically related strains. The nucleotide sequences of crt-clusters in 100 Streptomyces strains have been analyzed using the BLASTn programs. Some schemes in the organization of crt-clusters in streptomycetes were determined. A set of the main trends in the localization and organization of crt-clusters in Streptomyces has been specified. Similarities in the organization of crt-clusters in the genomes of microorganisms belonging to different strains of the same Streptomyces species have been shown. The study has confirmed the possibility of using the information about the organization of crt-clusters in Streptomyces (additionally to the traditionally employed genetic and phenotypic characteristics) in the classification of microorganisms within lower taxa (clades, species, and subspecies).