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From Root to Tips: Sporulation Evolution and Specialization in Bacillus subtilis and the Intestinal Pathogen
Paula Ramos-Silva1,2, Mónica Serrano3, Adriano O Henriques3
1Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal.
Molecular Biology and Evolution
|July 28, 2019
Summary
Bacterial endospore formation evolved through two key gene gain events within Firmicutes. Bacillus subtilis innovates new sporulation genes, while Clostridioides difficile uses horizontal gene transfer, adapting to its gut environment.
Area of Science:
- Microbiology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Bacterial Genetics
Background:
- Firmicutes bacteria form resistant endospores for survival and dissemination.
- Sporulation involves hundreds of coordinated genes in both Bacillus subtilis and Clostridioides difficile.
- The evolutionary origins of bacterial endospore formation remain largely unknown.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the evolutionary history and mechanisms of bacterial endospore formation.
- To trace the origin and gain-loss dynamics of sporulation genes across Firmicutes.
- To compare the evolutionary strategies of sporulation gene recruitment in B. subtilis and C. difficile.
Main Methods:
- Macroevolutionary analysis of sporulation genes from B. subtilis and C. difficile.
- Gene gain-loss dynamics estimation across a comprehensive bacterial phylogeny.
- Comparative analysis of sporulation regulon evolution and gene recruitment strategies.
Main Results:
- Two significant gene gain events shaped sporulation evolution: one at the base of Firmicutes and another within the B. subtilis group and Peptostreptococcaceae family.
- Early and late sporulation regulatory networks (regulons) have coevolved.
- B. subtilis exhibits greater innovation with lineage-restricted sporulation genes, whereas C. difficile primarily utilizes horizontal gene transfer for new sporulation genes.
Conclusions:
- Bacterial endospore formation is shaped by major gene gain events and coevolution of regulatory networks.
- Distinct evolutionary strategies for acquiring sporulation genes exist, with B. subtilis favoring innovation and C. difficile favoring horizontal gene transfer.
- C. difficile's reliance on horizontal gene transfer reflects its mobile genome and adaptation to the gut ecosystem.
Keywords:
bacterial genome evolutionhorizontal gene transfersporulationtaxon-specific genes, Bacillus subtilis, Clostridioides difficileMore Related Videos
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