Repository logo
 

The scale and evolutionary significance of horizontal gene transfer in the choanoflagellate

dc.contributor.authorYue, Jipei
dc.contributor.authorSun, Guiling
dc.contributor.authorHu, Xiangyang
dc.contributor.authorHuang, Jinling
dc.date.accessioned2016-06-03T16:37:03Z
dc.date.available2016-06-03T16:37:03Z
dc.date.issued2013-10
dc.description.abstractBackground It is generally agreed that horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is common in phagotrophic protists. However, the overall scale of HGT and the cumulative impact of acquired genes on the evolution of these organisms remain largely unknown. Results Choanoflagellates are phagotrophs and the closest living relatives of animals. In this study, we performed phylogenomic analyses to investigate the scale of HGT and the evolutionary importance of horizontally acquired genes in the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis. Our analyses identified 405 genes that are likely derived from algae and prokaryotes, accounting for approximately 4.4% of the Monosiga nuclear genome. Many of the horizontally acquired genes identified in Monosiga were probably acquired from food sources, rather than by endosymbiotic gene transfer (EGT) from obsolete endosymbionts or plastids. Of 193 genes identified in our analyses with functional information, 84 (43.5%) are involved in carbohydrate or amino acid metabolism, and 45 (23.3%) are transporters and/or involved in response to oxidative, osmotic, antibiotic, or heavy metal stresses. Some identified genes may also participate in biosynthesis of important metabolites such as vitamins C and K12, porphyrins and phospholipids. Conclusions Our results suggest that HGT is frequent in Monosiga brevicollis and might have contributed substantially to its adaptation and evolution. This finding also highlights the importance of HGT in the genome and organismal evolution of phagotrophic eukaryotes.en_US
dc.identifier.citationBMC Genomics; 14:1 p. 1-10en_US
dc.identifier.doi10.1186/1471-2164-14-729
dc.identifier.issn1471-2164
dc.identifier.pmidpmc4046809en_US
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10342/5459
dc.relation.urihttp://bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2164-14-729en_US
dc.subjectGenome evolutionen_US
dc.subjectChoanoflagellatesen_US
dc.subjectHGT frequencyen_US
dc.subjectEukaryotic evolutionen_US
dc.subjectAdaptationen_US
dc.titleThe scale and evolutionary significance of horizontal gene transfer in the choanoflagellateen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
ecu.journal.issue1en_US
ecu.journal.nameBMC Genomicsen_US
ecu.journal.pages1-10en_US
ecu.journal.volume14en_US

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
12864_2012_Article_5464.PMC4046809.pdf
Size:
347.96 KB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format

Collections