Taxonomic and biosynthetic diversity of the marine actinomycete <i>Salinispora</i> across spatial scales

The marine actinomycete genus <i>Salinispora</i> has become a model organism for natural product discovery and to address actinomycete diversity and distributions in marine systems. While biogeographic patterns have been reported at global scales, contrasts have yet to be made with the species diversity that can be recovered from a single location. Here we sequenced the genomes of 96 <i>S. arenicola</i> strains cultured from marine sediments collected within a 1 m² plot and compared the diversity detected to public genomes obtained from global collection sites. The results provide evidence of geographic isolation among <i>S. arenicola</i> populations and biosynthetic genes that are mobilized across population boundaries. Multi-omic analyses linked compounds to their respective biosynthetic genes and revealed compounds not previously reported from the genus. This study adds to our growing understanding of <i>Salinispora</i> diversity and biosynthetic potential.