Integrative Genomics Sheds Light on Evolutionary Forces Shaping the Acidithiobacillia Class Acidophilic Lifestyle.

ABSTRACT: Extreme acidophiles thrive in environments rich in protons (pH values <3) and often high levels of dissolved heavy metals. They are distributed across the three domains of the Tree of Life including members of the Proteobacteria. The Acidithiobacillia class is formed by the neutrophilic genus Thermithiobacillus along with the extremely acidophilic genera Fervidacidithiobacillus, Igneacidithiobacillus, Ambacidithiobacillus, and Acidithiobacillus. Phylogenomic reconstruction revealed a division in the Acidithiobacillia class correlating with the different pH optima that suggested that the acidophilic genera evolved from an ancestral neutrophile within the Acidithiobacillia. Genes and mechanisms denominated as "first line of defense" were key to explaining t

SUBMITTER: Gonzalez-Rosales C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8886135 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature