Dataset Information

Horizontal gene transfer and diverse functional constrains within a common replication-partitioning system in Alphaproteobacteria: the repABC operon.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: The repABC plasmid family, which is extensively present within Alphaproteobacteria, and some secondary chromosomes of the Rhizobiales have the particular feature that all the elements involved in replication and partitioning reside within one transcriptional unit, the repABC operon. Given the functional interactions among the elements of the repABC operon, and the fact that they all reside in the same operon, a common evolutionary history would be expected if the entire operon had been horizontally transferred. Here, we tested whether there is a common evolutionary history within the repABC operon. We further examined different incompatibility groups in terms of their differentiation and degree of adaptation to their host. RESULTS: We did not find a single evolutionary history within the repABC operon. Each protein had a particular phylogeny, horizontal gene transfer events of the individual genes within the operon were detected, and different functional constraints were found within and between the Rep proteins. When different repABC operons coexisted in the same genome, they were well differentiated from one another. Finally, we found different levels of adaptation to the host genome within and between repABC operons coexisting in the same species. CONCLUSION: Horizontal gene transfer with conservation of the repABC operon structure provides a highly dynamic operon in which each member of this operon has its own evolutionary dynamics. In addition, it seems that different incompatibility groups present in the same species have different degrees of adaptation to their host genomes, in proportion to the amount of time the incompatibility group has coexisted with the host genome.

SUBMITTER: Castillo-Ramirez S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2783167 | biostudies-other | 2009

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Horizontal gene transfer and diverse functional constrains within a common replication-partitioning system in Alphaproteobacteria: the repABC operon.

Castillo-Ramírez Santiago S Vázquez-Castellanos Jorge F JF González Víctor V Cevallos Miguel A MA

BMC genomics 20091118

<h4>Background</h4>The repABC plasmid family, which is extensively present within Alphaproteobacteria, and some secondary chromosomes of the Rhizobiales have the particular feature that all the elements involved in replication and partitioning reside within one transcriptional unit, the repABC operon. Given the functional interactions among the elements of the repABC operon, and the fact that they all reside in the same operon, a common evolutionary history would be expected if the entire operon ...[more]

PMID: 19919719

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Project description:BackgroundThe genomic history of prokaryotic organismal lineages is marked by extensive horizontal gene transfer (HGT) between groups of organisms at all taxonomic levels. These HGT events have played an essential role in the origin and distribution of biological innovations. Analyses of ancient gene families show that HGT existed in the distant past, even at the time of the organismal last universal common ancestor (LUCA). Most gene transfers originated in lineages that have since gone extinct. Therefore, one cannot assume that the last common ancestors of each gene were all present in the same cell representing the cellular ancestor of all extant life.ResultsOrganisms existing as part of a diverse ecosystem at the time of LUCA likely shared genetic material between lineages. If these other lineages persisted for some time, HGT with the descendants of LUCA could have continued into the bacterial and archaeal lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase protein families support the hypothesis that the molecular common ancestors of the most ancient gene families did not all coincide in space and time. This is most apparent in the evolutionary histories of seryl-tRNA synthetase and threonyl-tRNA synthetase protein families, each containing highly divergent "rare" forms, as well as the sparse phylogenetic distributions of pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase, and the bacterial heterodimeric form of glycyl-tRNA synthetase. These topologies and phyletic distributions are consistent with horizontal transfers from ancient, likely extinct branches of the tree of life.ConclusionsOf all the organisms that may have existed at the time of LUCA, by definition only one lineage is survived by known progeny; however, this lineage retains a genomic record of heterogeneous genetic origins. The evolutionary histories of aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRS) are especially informative in detecting this signal, as they perform primordial biological functions, have undergone several ancient HGT events, and contain many sites with low substitution rates allowing deep phylogenetic reconstruction. We conclude that some aaRS families contain groups that diverge before LUCA. We propose that these ancient gene variants be described by the term "hypnologs", reflecting their ancient, reticulate origin from a time in life history that has been all but erased".

Dataset Information

Horizontal gene transfer and diverse functional constrains within a common replication-partitioning system in Alphaproteobacteria: the repABC operon.

Publications

Horizontal gene transfer and diverse functional constrains within a common replication-partitioning system in Alphaproteobacteria: the repABC operon.

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