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Updated: Aug 9, 2025
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Testing the Role of Multicopy Plasmids in the Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance
Published on: May 2, 2018
11.8K
Convergent evolution for antibiotic biosynthesis in bacteria and animals
Nicolas Papon1, Vincent Courdavault2, Marnix H Medema3
1Univ Angers, Univ Brest, IRF, SFR ICAT, F-49000 Angers, France.
Trends in Genetics : TIG
|February 23, 2023
Summary
Marine animals and bacteria independently evolved the ability to produce antimicrobial polyketides. This study provides the first evidence of convergent evolution for antimicrobial biosynthesis between different kingdoms of life.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Evolutionary Biology
- Marine Biology
Background:
- Convergent evolution is observed in various metabolic pathways across life.
- Interkingdom convergent evolution for antimicrobials has not been previously documented.
- Antimicrobial polyketides are crucial for defense in many organisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the potential for interkingdom convergent evolution in antimicrobial biosynthesis.
- To explore whether marine animals biosynthesize antimicrobial polyketides.
- To compare the evolutionary pathways of antimicrobial production in different life forms.
Main Methods:
- Bioinformatic analysis of marine animal genomes.
- Metabolic pathway reconstruction.
- Phylogenetic analysis of polyketide synthases.
Main Results:
- Evidence suggests marine animals biosynthesize antimicrobial polyketides.
- The evolutionary pathways appear to have arisen in parallel with those in bacteria.
- This represents a novel instance of interkingdom convergent evolution.
Conclusions:
- Marine animals exhibit convergent evolution with bacteria in producing antimicrobial polyketides.
- This finding expands our understanding of evolutionary strategies for defense.
- Antimicrobial polyketide biosynthesis is a target for interkingdom evolutionary convergence.
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