In silico analysis of cysteine content, in six genes, across three marine Altererythrobacter strains sampled at varying barometric pressures

Marine microbes experience varying degrees of barometric pressure depending on the depth at which they reside. High barometric pressure can create an extreme environment which favors the survival of barophilic and barotolerant bacteria. This paper aims to quantify the cysteine content in six genes across three marine Altererythrobacter strains that were sampled from varying depth, thus living under corresponding degrees of barometric pressure. The purpose of this study is to test whether marine Altererythrobacter strains, living at greater depths, have proportionally more cysteine content, which could improve protein stability under high pressures. It was hypothesized that organisms sampled at greater depths would exhibit higher amounts of cysteine in their proteins as a mechanism to cope with the increased barometric pressure. This hypothesis was tested by selecting three open source genomes, from three marine Altererythrobacter species, which were sampled at different depths. Strains sampled from different depths were found to have similar proportions of cysteine. This study was only intended as a preliminary investigation and in order for the hypothesis to be thoroughly supported or rejected a more comprehensive study would be needed.