Horizontal gene transfer and the evolution of transcriptional regulation in Escherichia coli.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Most bacterial genes were acquired by horizontal gene transfer from other bacteria instead of being inherited by continuous vertical descent from an ancient ancestor. To understand how the regulation of these acquired genes evolved, we examined the evolutionary histories of transcription factors and of regulatory interactions from the model bacterium Escherichia coli K12.

Results

Although most transcription factors have paralogs, these usually arose by horizontal gene transfer rather than by duplication within the E. coli lineage, as previously believed. In general, most neighbor regulators - regulators that are adjacent to genes that they regulate - were acquired by horizontal gene transfer, whereas most global regulators evolved vertically within the gamma-Prote

SUBMITTER: Price MN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2395238 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature