Vibrio chromosomes share common history

While most gamma proteobacteria have a single circular chromosome, Vibrionales have two circular chromosomes. Horizontal gene transfer is common among vibrios, and in light of this genetic mobility, it is an open question to what extent the two chromosomes themselves share a common history since their formation.

Results: Single copy genes from each chromosome (142 genes from chromosome I and 42 genes from chromosome II) were identified from 19 sequenced Vibrionales genomes and their phylogenetic comparison suggests consistent phylogenies for each chromosome.

Additionally, study of the gene organization and phylogeny of the respective origins of replication confirmed the shared history.

Conclusions: Thus, while elements within the chromosomes may have experienced significant genetic mobility, the backbones share a common history. This allows conclusions based on multilocus sequence analysis (MLSA) for one chromosome to be applied equally to both chromosomes.

Author: Benjamin KirkupLeeAnn ChangSarah ChangDirk GeversMartin Polz
Credits/Source: BMC Microbiology 2010, 10:137

Published on: 2010-05-10

Copyright by the authors listed above - made available via BioMedCentral (Open Access). Please make sure to read our disclaimer prior to contacting 7thSpace Interactive. To contact our editors, visit our online helpdesk. If you wish submit your own press release, click here.

Comments Page 0 of 0

There are currently 0 comments to display.

+ Add New Comment

Custom Search