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Heuristic Mining of Hierarchical Genotypes and Accessory Genome Loci in Bacterial Populations
Published on: December 7, 2021
Comparative Genomics and Adaptive Evolution of Bifidobacterium adolescentis in Geographically Distinct Human Gut
Pei Fu1,2,3,4, Hao Qi1,2,3,4, Wenjun Liu1,2,3,4
1Key Laboratory of Dairy Biotechnology and Engineering, Ministry of Education, Inner Mongolia Agricultural University, Hohhot 010018, China.
Abstract:
Bifidobacterium adolescentis is prevalent in the gastrointestinal tract of healthy humans, and significantly influences host health. Recent studies have predominantly investigated the probiotic characteristics of individual strains and their specific metabolic roles, whereas analyses at the population genome level have been limited to date. This study conducted a comparative genomics analysis of 543 B. adolescentis genomes to explore genetic background variations and functional gene differences across geographically diverse populations. The results revealed significant differences in genome size and GC content among populations from Asia, Europe, and North America (p < 0.05). The pan-gene exhibited an open structure, reflecting the substantial genetic diversity within B. adolescentis. Functional annotation demonstrated that B. adolescentis possesses numerous protein-coding genes and abundant carbohydrate-active enzymes (CAZys) implicated in carbohydrate degradation and transformation. Population-specific CAZys were identified, suggesting adaptive evolution driven by distinct regional dietary patterns.
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