Ancient, recurrent phage attacks and recombination shaped dynamic sequence-variable mosaics at the root of phytoplasma genome evolution.

ABSTRACT: Mobile genetic elements have impacted biological evolution across all studied organisms, but evidence for a role in evolutionary emergence of an entire phylogenetic clade has not been forthcoming. We suggest that mobile element predation played a formative role in emergence of the phytoplasma clade. Phytoplasmas are cell wall-less bacteria that cause numerous diseases in plants. Phylogenetic analyses indicate that these transkingdom parasites descended from Gram-positive walled bacteria, but events giving rise to the first phytoplasma have remained unknown. Previously we discovered a unique feature of phytoplasmal genome architecture, genes clustered in sequence-variable mosaics (SVMs), and suggested that such structures formed through recurrent, targeted attacks by mobile elements. In the

SUBMITTER: Wei W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2515622 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature