Positive Selection in Bifidobacterium Genes Drives Species-Specific Host-Bacteria Communication.

ABSTRACT: Bifidobacteria are commensal microorganisms that inhabit a wide range of hosts, including insects, birds and mammals. The mechanisms responsible for the adaptation of bifidobacteria to various hosts during the evolutionary process remain poorly understood. Previously, we reported that the species-specific PFNA gene cluster is present in the genomes of various species of the Bifidobacterium genus. The cluster contains signal transduction and adhesion genes that are presumably involved in the communication between bifidobacteria and their hosts. The genes in the PFNA cluster show high sequence divergence between bifidobacterial species, which may be indicative of rapid evolution that drives species-specific adaptation to the host organism. We used the maximum likelihood approach to de

SUBMITTER: Dyachkova MS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6803598 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature