Editing Prochlorococcus (section)

{{Short description|Genus of bacteria}}{{Italic title}}{{Speciesbox
| image = Prochlorococcus marinus.jpg
| image_alt = SEM of ''Prochlorococcus marinus'' pseudo-colored
| image_caption = [[Transmission electron microscope|TEM]] image of ''Prochlorococcus marinus'' ([[pseudo-colored]])
| image2 =
| image2_alt =
| image2_caption =
| genus = Prochlorococcus
| parent_authority = [[Sallie W. Chisholm|Chisholm]] et al., 1992
| species = marinus
| authority = Chisholm et al., 1992
}}

'''''Prochlorococcus''''' is a [[genus]] of very small (0.6&nbsp;[[micrometre|μm]]) [[Ocean|marine]] [[cyanobacteria]] with an unusual pigmentation ([[Chlorophyll|chlorophyll ''a2'' and ''b2'']]). These bacteria belong to the [[photosynthetic picoplankton]] and are probably the most abundant [[photosynthesis|photosynthetic]] organism on Earth. ''Prochlorococcus'' microbes are among the major [[primary producers]] in the ocean, responsible for a large percentage of the photosynthetic production of [[oxygen]].<ref name="Munn">{{ cite book |last=Munn|first= C.  |title=Marine Microbiology: Ecology and applications|edition=2nd |publisher=Garland Science|date= 2011}}{{pn |date=January 2024}}</ref><ref name="www.hup.harvard.edu">{{Cite book|url=http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674975910|title=Life at the Edge of Sight |first1= Scott|last1= Chimileski|first2= Roberto|last2= Kolter |date=25 September 2017 |publisher=Belknap Press |isbn=978-0-674-97591-0 |language=en|access-date=2018-01-26}}{{pn|date=January 2024}}</ref> ''Prochlorococcus'' strains, called ecotypes, have physiological differences enabling them to exploit different ecological niches.<ref>{{cite journal | pmid = 17016519 | doi=10.1038/msb4100087 | volume=2 | issue=1 | title=Global gene expression of ''Prochlorococcus'' ecotypes in response to changes in nitrogen availability | pmc=1682016 |date=October 2006 | at=53  |vauthors=Tolonen AC, Aach J, Lindell D, Johnson ZI, Rector T, Steen R, Church GM, Chisholm SW | journal = Molecular Systems Biology |doi-access=free}} </ref> Analysis of the [[Genome|genome sequences]] of ''Prochlorococcus'' strains show that 1,273<ref name="Kettler-2007" /> genes are common to all strains, and the average genome size is about 2,000 [[gene]]s.<ref name="Munn"/> In contrast, [[Eukaryote|eukaryotic]] [[algae]] have over 10,000 genes.<ref name="Kettler-2007">{{cite journal | pmid = 18159947 | doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.0030231 | volume=3 | issue=12 | title=Patterns and Implications of Gene Gain and Loss in the Evolution of ''Prochlorococcus'' | pmc=2151091 |date=December 2007 | at=e231  |vauthors=Kettler GC, Martiny AC, Huang K, etal | journal = <!-- Citation bot no --> PLoS Genetics | doi-access=free }}</ref>

The genus and the type species were made [[validly published names]] under the [[ICNP]] in 2001 with ''Validation list no. 79''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Validation of publication of new names and new combinations previously effectively published outside the IJSEM. |journal=International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology |date=1 March 2001 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=263–265 |doi=10.1099/00207713-51-2-263}}</ref> They became valid under the [[ICNafp]] in 2020 with the description of Komárek et al.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Komárek |first1=Jiří |last2=Johansen |first2=Jeffrey R. |last3=Šmarda |first3=Jan |last4=Strunecký |first4=Otakar |title=Phylogeny and taxonomy of Synechococcus-like cyanobacteria |journal=Fottea |date=14 October 2020 |volume=20 |issue=2 |pages=171–191 |doi=10.5507/fot.2020.006}}</ref>