Horizontal transfers and gene losses in the phospholipid pathway of bartonella reveal clues about early ecological niches.

ABSTRACT: Bartonellae are mammalian pathogens vectored by blood-feeding arthropods. Although of increasing medical importance, little is known about their ecological past, and host associations are underexplored. Previous studies suggest an influence of horizontal gene transfers in ecological niche colonization by acquisition of host pathogenicity genes. We here expand these analyses to metabolic pathways of 28 Bartonella genomes, and experimentally explore the distribution of bartonellae in 21 species of blood-feeding arthropods. Across genomes, repeated gene losses and horizontal gains in the phospholipid pathway were found. The evolutionary timing of these patterns suggests functional consequences likely leading to an early intracellular lifestyle for stem bartonellae. Comparative phylogenomic an

SUBMITTER: Zhu Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4159011 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature