Novel evolutionary insights on the interactions of the Holosporales (Alphaproteobacteria) with eukaryotic hosts from comparative genomics

Holosporales are an alphaproteobacterial order engaging in obligate and complex associations with eukaryotes, in particular protists. The functional and evolutionary features of those interactions are still largely undisclosed. Here, we sequenced the genomes of two members of the species Bealeia paramacronuclearis (Holosporales, Holosporaceae) intracellularly associated with the ciliate protist Paramecium, which resulted in high correspondence. Consistent with the short-branched early-divergent phylogenetic position, Bealeia presents a larger functional repertoire than other Holosporaceae, comparable to those of other Holosporales families, particularly for energy metabolism and motility. Our analyses indicate that different Holosporales likely experienced at least partly autonomous genome reduction and adaptation to host interactions, for example regarding dependence on host biotin driven by multiple independent horizontal acquisitions of transporters. Among Alphaproteobacteria, this is reminiscent of the convergently evolved Rickettsiales, which however appear more diverse, possibly due to a probably more ancient origin. We identified in Bealeia and other Holosporales the plasmid-encoded putative genetic determinants of R-bodies, which may be involved in a killer trait towards symbiont-free hosts. While it is not clear whether these genes are ancestral or recently horizontally acquired, an intriguing and peculiar role of R-bodies is suggested in the evolution of the interactions of multiple Holosporales with their hosts.     

Dynamic evolution of pathogenicity revealed by sequencing and comparative genomics of 19 Pseudomonas syringae isolates

Closely related pathogens may differ dramatically in host range, but the molecular, genetic, and evolutionary basis for these differences remains unclear. In many Gram- negative bacteria, including the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae, type III effectors (TTEs) are essential for pathogenicity, instrumental in structuring host range, and exhibit wide diversity between strains. To capture the dynamic nature of virulence gene repertoires across P. syringae, we screened 11 diverse strains for novel TTE families and coupled this nearly saturating screen with the sequencing and assembly of 14 phylogenetically diverse isolates from a broad collection of diseased host plants. TTE repertoires vary dramatically in size and content across all P. syringae clades; surprisingly few TTEs are conserved and present in all strains. Those that are likely provide basal requirements for pathogenicity. We demonstrate that functional divergence within one conserved locus, hopM1, leads to dramatic differences in pathogenicity, and we demonstrate that phylogenetics-informed mutagenesis can be used to identify functionally critical residues of TTEs. The dynamism of the TTE repertoire is mirrored by diversity in pathways affecting the synthesis of secreted phytotoxins, highlighting the likely role of both types of virulence factors in determination of host range. We used these 14 draft genome sequences, plus five additional genome sequences previously reported, to identify the core genome for P. syringae and we compared this core to that of two closely related non-pathogenic pseudomonad species. These data revealed the recent acquisition of a 1 Mb megaplasmid by a sub-clade of cucumber pathogens. This megaplasmid encodes a type IV secretion system and a diverse set of unknown proteins, which dramatically increases both the genomic content of these strains and the pan-genome of the species.     

五株克雷伯氏菌噬菌体的生物学特性及比较基因组学研究

【目的】耐药性克雷伯氏菌属(Klebsiella)的细菌作为人类感染的重要病原,是临床治疗重要的挑战。本研究对多株克雷伯氏菌裂解性噬菌体的生物学特性和基因组特征进行比较分析,为其应用提供更多科学数据。【方法】使用双层平板法从人类和动物新鲜粪便、污水中分离纯化裂解性克雷伯氏菌噬菌体;通过磷钨酸染色和透射电镜观察其形态;采用双层平板噬菌斑法确定其宿主范围,测定温度和pH稳定性、一步生长曲线和体外抑菌效果等生物学特性;基于全基因组测序对分离株进行比较基因组学分析;通过体内抑菌试验评估噬菌体对多重耐药变栖克雷伯氏菌(Klebsiella variicola)BS375-3感染的大蜡螟(Galleria mellonella)幼虫的保护作用。【结果】5株噬菌体分别属于Schitoviridae(pKP-BM327-1.2)、Autographiviridae(pKP-M186-2.1、pKP-M186-2.2和pKV-BS375-3.1)、Drexlerviridae(pKP-BS317-1.1)家族;噬菌体pKV-BS375-3.1可裂解受试菌中的8株,pKP-BM327-1.2可裂解受试菌中的3株,pKP-M186-2.1、pKP-M186-2.2和pKP-BS317-1.1则分别裂解受试菌中的1株;5株噬菌体感染10–20 min后即进入指数增长期,在–20–37℃、pH 6–10环境下均能够保持稳定活性;感染变栖克雷伯氏菌BS375-3后经噬菌体pKV-BS375-3.1处理[感染复数(multiplicity of infection,MOI)=100]的大蜡螟幼虫96 h内存活率达到80%(8/10);5株噬菌体基因组长度在42–77 kb之间,未携带抗生素抗性基因和毒力基因,基于内溶素(endolysin)的溯源分析显示该蛋白在克雷伯氏菌噬菌体中呈现多样性,属内呈保守性。【结论】5株克雷伯氏菌噬菌体均具有较好的体外抑菌活性,生物学特性稳定,endolysin在噬菌体属内呈现保守性。宿主谱宽、潜伏期短的噬菌体pKV-BS375-3.1在治疗Klebsiella pneumoniae和K.variicola临床感染方面具有潜在应用前景。     

Modularity of methylotrophy, revisited

Methylotrophy is a metabolic capability possessed by microorganisms that allows them to build biomass and to obtain energy from organic substrates containing no carbon-carbon bonds (C1 compounds, such as methane, methanol, etc.). This phenomenon in microbial physiology has been a subject of study for over 100 years, elucidating a set of well-defined enzymatic systems and pathways enabling this capability. The knowledge gained from the early genetic and genomic approaches to understanding methylotrophy pointed towards the existence of alternative enzymes/pathways for the specific metabolic goals. Different combinations of these systems in different organisms suggested that methylotrophy must be modular in its nature. More recent insights from genomic analyses, including the genomes representing novel types of methylotrophs, seem to reinforce this notion. This review integrates the new findings with the previously developed concept of modularity of methylotrophy.     

Conochilus in Lake Washington

The rotifer Conochilus unicornis appeared in Lake Washington sporadically and usually in small numbers during a total of 28 years of observation since 1933. Conochilus hippocrepis was present even less frequently until the 3 year period 1977–1979, when it became extraordinarily abundant. The abundances of food organisms and known predators have been examined.The only consistent correlation found was between the seasonal maximum of Leptodora and the decrease of C. hippocrepis from its peak abundance each year. Leptodora was generally less abundant during 1977–1979 than during most of the preceding years and the years following the C. hippocrepis episode. No such correlations were found with Epischura, Cyclops or edible algae.In July 1985, there was a small resurgence of C. hippocrepis preceded by a small population of C. unicornis. Leptodora was less abundant than in the immediately preceding years. Observations were made on stomach contents of both animals and colony size of C. hippocrepis. Recommendations are made for programs of new field studies and laboratory experiments to establish the actual requirements for successful populations of Conochilus.     

Genome of Methylobacillus flagellatus, molecular basis for obligate methylotrophy, and polyphyletic origin of methylotrophy

Along with methane, methanol and methylated amines represent important biogenic atmospheric constituents; thus, not only methanotrophs but also nonmethanotrophic methylotrophs play a significant role in global carbon cycling. The complete genome of a model obligate methanol and methylamine utilizer, Methylobacillus flagellatus (strain KT) was sequenced. The genome is represented by a single circular chromosome of approximately 3 Mbp, potentially encoding a total of 2,766 proteins. Based on genome analysis as well as the results from previous genetic and mutational analyses, methylotrophy is enabled by methanol and methylamine dehydrogenases and their specific electron transport chain components, the tetrahydromethanopterin-linked formaldehyde oxidation pathway and the assimilatory and dissimilatory ribulose monophosphate cycles, and by a formate dehydrogenase. Some of the methylotrophy genes are present in more than one (identical or nonidentical) copy. The obligate dependence on single-carbon compounds appears to be due to the incomplete tricarboxylic acid cycle, as no genes potentially encoding alpha-ketoglutarate, malate, or succinate dehydrogenases are identifiable. The genome of M. flagellatus was compared in terms of methylotrophy functions to the previously sequenced genomes of three methylotrophs, Methylobacterium extorquens (an alphaproteobacterium, 7 Mbp), Methylibium petroleiphilum (a betaproteobacterium, 4 Mbp), and Methylococcus capsulatus (a gammaproteobacterium, 3.3 Mbp). Strikingly, metabolically and/or phylogenetically, the methylotrophy functions in M. flagellatus were more similar to those in M. capsulatus and M. extorquens than to the ones in the more closely related M. petroleiphilum species, providing the first genomic evidence for the polyphyletic origin of methylotrophy in Betaproteobacteria.     

The enigmatic planctomycetes may hold a key to the origins of methanogenesis and methylotrophy

Methanogenesis and methane oxidation are the major biological processes affecting the global cycling of the powerful greenhouse gas methane. To carry out the two alternative bioconversions, Nature has cleverly recycled key reactions for the C1 transfers between the oxidation levels of formaldehyde and formate, and these involve analogous enzyme systems and common specialized cofactors, methanopterin and methanofuran. Until recently, the distribution of these functions has been limited to methanogenic archaea and methylotrophic proteobacteria, and their evolutionary history remained obscure. Single interdomain lateral transfer of the respective genes has been suggested to play a role. Here we show that genes for C1 transfer reactions linked to methanopterin and methanofuran are also present in diverse representatives of the enigmatic bacterial clade, the Planctomycetes. Phylogenetic analysis places the planctomycete sequences as distantly from their archaeal counterparts as from their proteobacterial counterparts, suggesting novel scenarios for the evolution of the C1 transfer functions in both methanogens and methylotrophs. This finding suggests a possible role for Planctomycetes in the evolution of the methane cycle on Earth.     

Characterization,distribution, and significance ofMetallogenium in Lake Washington

During summer stratification,Metallogenium personatun was found exclusively in the hypolimnion of Lake Washington where the oxygen tension was below 8 ppm. Numbers of the organism decreased in the lake immediately following turnover in October. Significant concentrations ofMetallogenium microcolonies did not recur until spring, after the lake had stratified. During stratification the distribution of particulate manganese closely followed the distribution ofMetallogenium. EDAX analysis, confirmed by electron microprobe analyses of the encrustation, showed that the primary component was manganese. Iron and some trace elements were also precipitated on the organism but to a lesser degree. In addition, phosphate, the primary substance limiting phytoplankton growth in Lake Washington, was found in the encrustation, indicatingMetallogenium maybe important in limiting algal blooms in the lake. Attempts to growMetallogenium in the laboratory were unsuccessful. This inability, combined with the negative results of thin-sectioning and acridine orange staining ofMetallogenium microcolonies, suggests that the microcolonial structures seen in Lake Washington are not a living form of an organism.     

Prediction of functionally related proteins by comparative genomics in silico

The review considers the computational prediction of functionally related proteins by comparative genomics. Growing possibilities of biotechnology for genome sequencing lead to generation of sequences for millions of genes. However, functions of majority of these genes remain unknown, and can be determined experimentally only for a few of them. Therefore, accurate and robust methods for in silico prediction (annotation) of gene functions are needed. We describe here the main techniques of comparative genomics, including the standard method based on transferring functions between homologous sequences and also context-based methods, including phylogenetic profiles and gene-neighbor approaches. Modern methods of comparative genomics allow obtaining correct functional annotations for more than a half of all organism proteins.     

The latest buzz in comparative genomics

A second species of fruit fly has just been added to the growing list of organisms with complete and annotated genome sequences. The publication of the Drosophila pseudoobscura sequence provides a snapshot of how genomes have changed over tens of millions of years and sets the stage for the analysis of more fly genomes.     

Intronic alternative splicing regulators identified by comparative genomics in nematodes

Many alternative splicing events are regulated by pentameric and hexameric intronic sequences that serve as binding sites for splicing regulatory factors. We hypothesized that intronic elements that regulate alternative splicing are under selective pressure for evolutionary conservation. Using a Wobble Aware Bulk Aligner genomic alignment of Caenorhabditis elegans and Caenorhabditis briggsae, we identified 147 alternatively spliced cassette exons that exhibit short regions of high nucleotide conservation in the introns flanking the alternative exon. In vivo experiments on the alternatively spliced let-2 gene confirm that these conserved regions can be important for alternative splicing regulation. Conserved intronic element sequences were collected into a dataset and the occurrence of each pentamer and hexamer motif was counted. We compared the frequency of pentamers and hexamers in the conserved intronic elements to a dataset of all C. elegans intron sequences in order to identify short intronic motifs that are more likely to be associated with alternative splicing. High-scoring motifs were examined for upstream or downstream preferences in introns surrounding alternative exons. Many of the high- scoring nematode pentamer and hexamer motifs correspond to known mammalian splicing regulatory sequences, such as (T)GCATG, indicating that the mechanism of alternative splicing regulation is well conserved in metazoans. A comparison of the analysis of the conserved intronic elements, and analysis of the entire introns flanking these same exons, reveals that focusing on intronic conservation can increase the sensitivity of detecting putative splicing regulatory motifs. This approach also identified novel sequences whose role in splicing is under investigation and has allowed us to take a step forward in defining a catalog of splicing regulatory elements for an organism. In vivo experiments confirm that one novel high-scoring sequence from our analysis, (T)CTATC, is important for alternative splicing regulation of the unc-52 gene.     

Predicting regulons and their cis-regulatory motifs by comparative genomics

We have combined and compared three techniques for predicting functional interactions based on comparative genomics (methods based on conserved operons, protein fusions and correlated evolution) and optimized these methods to predict coregulated sets of genes in 24 complete genomes, including Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Caernorhabditis elegans and 22 prokaryotes. The method based on conserved operons was the most useful for this purpose. Upstream regions of the genes comprising these predicted regulons were then used to search for regulatory motifs in 22 prokaryotic genomes using the motif-discovery program AlignACE. Many significant upstream motifs, including five known Escherichia coli regulatory motifs, were identified in this manner. The presence of a significant regulatory motif was used to refine the members of the predicted regulons to generate a final set of predicted regulons that share significant regulatory elements.     

Unlocking the barley genome by chromosomal and comparative genomics

We used a novel approach that incorporated chromosome sorting, next-generation sequencing, array hybridization, and systematic exploitation of conserved synteny with model grasses to assign ~86% of the estimated ~32,000 barley (Hordeum vulgare) genes to individual chromosome arms. Using a series of bioinformatically constructed genome zippers that integrate gene indices of rice (Oryza sativa), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and Brachypodium distachyon in a conserved synteny model, we were able to assemble 21,766 barley genes in a putative linear order. We show that the barley (H) genome displays a mosaic of structural similarity to hexaploid bread wheat (Triticum aestivum) A, B, and D subgenomes and that orthologous genes in different grasses exhibit signatures of positive selection in different lineages. We present an ordered, information-rich scaffold of the barley genome that provides a valuable and robust framework for the development of novel strategies in cereal breeding.     

Population, quantitative and comparative genomics of adaptation in forest trees

High-throughput DNA sequencing and genotyping technologies have enabled a new generation of research in plant genetics where combined quantitative and population genetic approaches can be used to better understand the relationship between naturally occurring genotypic and phenotypic diversity. Forest trees are highly amenable to such studies because of their combined undomesticated and partially domesticated state. Forest geneticists are using association genetics to dissect complex adaptive traits and discover the underlying genes. In parallel, they are using resequencing of candidate genes and modern population genetics methods to discover genes under natural selection. This combined approach is identifying the most important genes that determine patterns of complex trait adaptation observed in many tree populations.