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Phage Phenomics: Physiological Approaches to Characterize Novel Viral Proteins
Published on: June 11, 2015
Comparative genomic analyses of the bacterial phosphotransferase system
Ravi D Barabote1, Milton H Saier
1Division of Biological Sciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0116, USA.
Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews : MMBR
|December 13, 2005
Summary
Bacterial phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase systems (PTS) are widespread but absent in archaea and eukaryotes. Gene gain, loss, and lateral transfer within bacteria drive PTS evolution and enzyme system development.
Area of Science:
- Genomics and Molecular Biology
- Microbial Evolution
- Biochemistry
Background:
- The phosphoenolpyruvate-dependent phosphotransferase system (PTS) is crucial for bacterial sugar transport and phosphorylation.
- Understanding the distribution and evolution of PTS proteins provides insights into bacterial adaptation and metabolic diversity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the prevalence and evolutionary patterns of PTS protein homologues across diverse bacterial, archaeal, and eukaryotic genomes.
- To investigate the role of gene gain, loss, and horizontal gene transfer in the evolution of PTS in bacteria.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis of 202 fully sequenced genomes (174 bacterial, 19 archaeal, 9 eukaryotic).
- Identification and characterization of protein constituents of the bacterial PTS.
- Phylogenetic analysis of PTS proteins and comparison with organismal phylogeny.
Main Results:
- PTS protein homologues were exclusively found in bacteria, indicating no horizontal gene transfer between the three domains of life.
- Significant variation in PTS complements was observed among bacterial species and even strains, with some lacking PTS permeases or entire systems.
- Analysis revealed frequent gain and loss of PTS genes and common domain fusions, suggesting extensive lateral gene transfer within bacteria.
Conclusions:
- The evolution of bacterial PTS is characterized by dynamic gene flux, with lateral gene transfer playing a significant role.
- The findings offer insights into the development of complex enzyme systems and predict protein-protein interactions for efficient phosphoryl transfer.
- PTS protein phylogeny often diverges from organismal phylogeny, highlighting the impact of horizontal gene transfer on bacterial genome evolution.
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