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Updated: Jul 14, 2026
07:42
Analysis of the Lipid Composition of Mycobacteria by Thin Layer Chromatography
Published on: April 16, 2021
Hallmarks of mycolic acid biosynthesis: a comparative genomics study
Karthik Raman1, Preethi Rajagopalan, Nagasuma Chandra
1Bioinformatics Centre and Supercomputer Education and Research Centre, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India.
Proteins
|June 30, 2007
Summary
The mycolic acid pathway (MAP) in mycobacteria evolved by recruiting enzymes from plants, likely via lateral gene transfer. Key proteins like DesA1, DesA2, Fas, and Pks13 are hallmarks of this essential biosynthetic capability.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Mycolic acids are crucial for mycobacterial growth, survival, and pathogenicity.
- Understanding the evolutionary origins and core components of the mycolic acid pathway (MAP) is essential.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary origins of the MAP.
- To identify the minimal set of proteins and domains critical for mycolic acid biosynthesis.
- To explore the recruitment of enzymes from other pathways.
Main Methods:
- Phylogenetic pathway profile analysis of 318 bacterial genomes.
- Clustering of organisms based on MAP protein co-occurrence.
- Clustering of proteins based on phylogenetic profiles.
- Sequence similarity searches across diverse phyla.
Main Results:
- Identified four key proteins and specific domains characteristic of mycolate-producing organisms.
- Highlighted DesA1, DesA2, and domains of Fas and Pks13 as pathway hallmarks.
- Demonstrated that MAP likely arose from recruiting enzymes from plant pathways via lateral gene transfer.
- Organism clustering provided a refined classification compared to standard taxonomy.
Conclusions:
- The mycolic acid pathway in mycobacteria is an emergent property.
- Key proteins like DesA1, DesA2, Fas, and Pks13 are critical for mycolic acid biosynthesis.
- Understanding these hallmarks aids in identifying potential drug targets.
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