Wholly Rickettsia! Reconstructed Metabolic Profile of the Quintessential Bacterial Parasite of Eukaryotic Cells.

ABSTRACT: Reductive genome evolution has purged many metabolic pathways from obligate intracellular Rickettsia (Alphaproteobacteria; Rickettsiaceae). While some aspects of host-dependent rickettsial metabolism have been characterized, the array of host-acquired metabolites and their cognate transporters remains unknown. This dearth of information has thwarted efforts to obtain an axenic Rickettsia culture, a major impediment to conventional genetic approaches. Using phylogenomics and computational pathway analysis, we reconstructed the Rickettsia metabolic and transport network, identifying 51 host-acquired metabolites (only 21 previously characterized) needed to compensate for degraded biosynthesis pathways. In the absence of glycolysis and the pentose phosphate p

SUBMITTER: Driscoll TP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5615194 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature