The evolution of two-component systems in bacteria reveals different strategies for niche adaptation.

ABSTRACT: Two-component systems including histidine protein kinases represent the primary signal transduction paradigm in prokaryotic organisms. To understand how these systems adapt to allow organisms to detect niche-specific signals, we analyzed the phylogenetic distribution of nearly 5,000 histidine protein kinases from 207 sequenced prokaryotic genomes. We found that many genomes carry a large repertoire of recently evolved signaling genes, which may reflect selective pressure to adapt to new environmental conditions. Both lineage-specific gene family expansion and horizontal gene transfer play major roles in the introduction of new histidine kinases into genomes; however, there are differences in how these two evolutionary forces act. Genes imported via horizontal transfer are more likely to re

SUBMITTER: Alm E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1630713 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature