Comparative genomics of Fructobacillus spp. and Leuconostoc spp. reveals nichespecific evolution of Fructobacillus spp.
Date
2015
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
BioMed Central
Abstract
Background: Fructobacillus spp. in fructose-rich niches belong to the family Leuconostocaceae. They were originally
classified as Leuconostoc spp., but were later grouped into a novel genus, Fructobacillus, based on their phylogenetic
position, morphology and specific biochemical characteristics. The unique characters, so called fructophilic characteristics,
had not been reported in the group of lactic acid bacteria, suggesting unique evolution at the genome level.
Here we studied four draft genome sequences of Fructobacillus spp. and compared their metabolic properties
against those of Leuconostoc spp.
Results: Fructobacillus species possess significantly less protein coding sequences in their small genomes. The
number of genes was significantly smaller in carbohydrate transport and metabolism. Several other metabolic
pathways, including TCA cycle, ubiquinone and other terpenoid-quinone biosynthesis and phosphotransferase
systems, were characterized as discriminative pathways between the two genera. The adhE gene for bifunctional
acetaldehyde/alcohol dehydrogenase, and genes for subunits of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex were absent in
Fructobacillus spp. The two genera also show different levels of GC contents, which are mainly due to the different GC
contents at the third codon position.
Conclusion: The present genome characteristics in Fructobacillus spp. suggest reductive evolution that took place to
adapt to specific niches.
Description
CITATION: Endo, A. et al. 2015. Comparative genomics of Fructobacillus spp. and Leuconostoc spp. reveals nichespecific evolution of Fructobacillus spp. BMC Genomics, 16:1117, doi:10.1186/s12864-015-2339-x.
The original publication is available at http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com
The original publication is available at http://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com
Keywords
Fructobacillus, Leuconostoc, Comparative genomics
Citation
Endo, A. et al. 2015. Comparative genomics of Fructobacillus spp. and Leuconostoc spp. reveals nichespecific evolution of Fructobacillus spp. BMC Genomics, 16:1117, doi:10.1186/s12864-015-2339-x.