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Horizontal Transfers and Gene Losses in the phospholipid pathway of Bartonella reveal clues about early ecological niches

Qiyun Zhu, Michael Kosoy, Kevin J. Olival, Katharina Dittmar
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/003350
Qiyun Zhu
1Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
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  • For correspondence: qiyunzhu@buffalo.edu kd52@buffalo.edu
Michael Kosoy
2Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
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Kevin J. Olival
3EcoHealth Alliance, NY, USA
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Katharina Dittmar
1Department of Biological Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
4Graduate Program of Evolution, Ecology, and Behavior, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
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  • For correspondence: qiyunzhu@buffalo.edu kd52@buffalo.edu
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Abstract

Bartonellae are mammalian pathogens vectored by blood-feeding arthropods. Although of increasing medical importance, little is known about their ecological past, and host associations are underexplored. Previous studies suggest an influence of horizontal gene transfers in ecological niche colonization by acquisition of host pathogenicity genes. We here expand these analyses to metabolic pathways of 28 Bartonella genomes, and experimentally explore the distribution of bartonellae in 21 species of blood-feeding arthropods. Across genomes, repeated gene losses and horizontal gains in the phospholipid pathway were found. The evolutionary timing of these patterns suggests functional consequences likely leading to an early intracellular lifestyle for stem bartonellae. Comparative phylogenomic analyses discover three independent lineage-specific reacquisitions of a core metabolic gene - NAD(P)H-dependent glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (gpsA) - from Gammaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria. Transferred genes are significantly closely related to invertebrate Arsenophonus-, and Serratia-like endosymbionts, and mammalian Helicobacter-like pathogens, supporting a cellular association with arthropods and mammals at the base of extant bartonellae. Our studies suggest that the horizontal re-aquisitions had a key impact on bartonellae lineage specific ecological and functional evolution.

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The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted March 17, 2014.
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Horizontal Transfers and Gene Losses in the phospholipid pathway of Bartonella reveal clues about early ecological niches
Qiyun Zhu, Michael Kosoy, Kevin J. Olival, Katharina Dittmar
bioRxiv 003350; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/003350
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Horizontal Transfers and Gene Losses in the phospholipid pathway of Bartonella reveal clues about early ecological niches
Qiyun Zhu, Michael Kosoy, Kevin J. Olival, Katharina Dittmar
bioRxiv 003350; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/003350

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