​Analyses of two bacterial strains in the Red Sea show they are enriched with gene clusters with potential to activate the synthesis of a wide range of industrially useful compounds, from novel antibiotics, anticancer agents and pigments to those useful for crop protection and the food industry.

Bacteria are a rich resource for bioactive chemical compounds and Magbubah Essack, of KAUST’s Computational Bioscience Research Center, explains that bacterial strains able to withstand the Red Sea’s highly saline, warm waters were anticipated to produce sturdy enzymes suited for industrial applications.

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Image:Similarity between the genomes of Bac48 and Bac84. Developed using data visualisation software, this figure shows synteny blocks between B. paralicheniformis Bac48 and B. paralicheniformis Bac84. Regions I, II and III are regions in B. paralicheniformis Bac48 that are missing in B. paralicheniformis Bac84.