Clustered genes related to sulfate respiration in uncultured prokaryotes support the theory of their concomitant horizontal transfer.

ABSTRACT: The dissimilatory reduction of sulfate is an ancient metabolic process central to today's biogeochemical cycling of sulfur and carbon in marine sediments. Until now its polyphyletic distribution was most parsimoniously explained by multiple horizontal transfers of single genes rather than by a not-yet-identified "metabolic island." Here we provide evidence that the horizontal transfer of a gene cluster may indeed be responsible for the patchy distribution of sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP) in the phylogenetic tree. We isolated three DNA fragments (32 to 41 kb) from uncultured, closely related SRP from DNA directly extracted from two distinct marine sediments. Fosmid ws39f7, and partially also fosmids ws7f8 and hr42c9, harbored a core set of essential genes for the dissimilatory reductio

SUBMITTER: Mussmann M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1251608 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature