Using glycolysis enzyme sequences to inform Lactobacillus phylogeny

Area of Science:

• Microbiology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Bioinformatics

Background:

• The genus Lactobacillus comprises diverse species with varied metabolic pathways, adapted to numerous ecological niches.
• Lactobacillus species are widely used as probiotics and starter cultures in the food industry.
• Despite specialized functions, all Lactobacillus species share core metabolic pathways, including glycolysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the utility of glycolytic enzyme sequences for Lactobacillus phylogeny.
• To compare glycolysis-based phylogenetic analysis with genome-wide and transcriptomic data.

Main Methods:

• Identification and extraction of glycolysis enzyme sequences from 52 Lactobacillus species.
• Conducting individual and concatenated phylogenetic analyses using these sequences.
• Comparing phylogenetic patterns with genome-wide and transcriptomic data.

Main Results:

• A glycolysis-based phylogenetic tree robustly segregated Lactobacillus species into distinct clusters.
• This approach successfully discerned very closely related species.
• Evolutionary patterns derived from glycolysis enzymes correlated with genomic and transcriptomic trends.

Conclusions:

• Glycolytic enzymes provide valuable phylogenetic insights into Lactobacillus evolution.
• These enzymes can serve as practical targets for evolutionary studies.
• Glycolysis-based phylogenetics offers a robust alternative to 16S rRNA for resolving closely related species.