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Prochlorococcus
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<p><i>Prochlorococcus</i> is a <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> of very small (0.6 <a href="/facts/Micrometre/7eDFxD2L">μm</a>) <a href="/facts/Ocean/8W8lYgjD">marine</a> <a href="/facts/Cyanobacteria/S8bKxIU9">cyanobacteria</a> with an unusual pigmentation (<a href="/facts/Chlorophyll/1Sb0NyyM">chlorophyll <i>a2</i> and <i>b2</i></a>). These bacteria belong to the <a href="/facts/Photosynthetic_picoplankton/XLLPNP9F">photosynthetic picoplankton</a> and are probably the most abundant <a href="/facts/Photosynthesis/TMV7w693">photosynthetic</a> organism on Earth. <i>Prochlorococcus</i> microbes are among the major <a href="/facts/Primary_producers/UDc8bzqD">primary producers</a> in the ocean, responsible for a large percentage of the photosynthetic production of <a href="/facts/Oxygen/acyn6o8r">oxygen</a>. <i>Prochlorococcus</i> strains, called ecotypes, have physiological differences enabling them to exploit different ecological niches. Analysis of the <a href="/facts/Genome/31Sm08JT">genome sequences</a> of <i>Prochlorococcus</i> strains show that 1,273 genes are common to all strains, and the average genome size is about 2,000 <a href="/facts/Gene/e1swwPY6">genes</a>. In contrast, <a href="/facts/Eukaryote/SkwyPLMA">eukaryotic</a> <a href="/facts/Algae/U1ftVKU3">algae</a> have over 10,000 genes. </p>