Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms
Diatoms are a diverse group of mainly photosynthetic algae, responsible for 20% of worldwide oxygen production, which can rapidly respond to favourable conditions and often outcompete other phytoplankton. We investigated the contribution of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to its ecological success. A...
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ftunivgent:oai:archive.ugent.be:8670450 2023-06-11T04:17:02+02:00 Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms Vancaester, Emmelien Depuydt, Thomas Osuna, Cristina Vandepoele, Klaas 2020 application/pdf https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8670450 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450/file/8670451 eng eng https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8670450 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450/file/8670451 No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION ISSN: 0737-4038 ISSN: 1537-1719 Biology and Life Sciences Genetics Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Molecular Biology horizontal gene transfer diatoms vitamin B12 selection pressure MULTIPLE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT SYNEDRA-ACUS GENOME REVEAL IRON VITAMIN-B-12 ALGAE EXPRESSION FRAMEWORK journalArticle info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2020 ftunivgent https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 2023-05-10T22:48:27Z Diatoms are a diverse group of mainly photosynthetic algae, responsible for 20% of worldwide oxygen production, which can rapidly respond to favourable conditions and often outcompete other phytoplankton. We investigated the contribution of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to its ecological success. A large-scale phylogeny-based prokaryotic HGT detection procedure across nine sequenced diatoms showed that 3-5% of their proteome has a horizontal origin and a large influx occurred at the ancestor of diatoms. More than 90% of HGT genes are expressed, and species-specific HGT genes in Phaeodactylum tricornutum undergo strong purifying selection. Genes derived from HGT are implicated in several processes including environmental sensing, and expand the metabolic toolbox. Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is an essential cofactor for roughly half of the diatoms and is only produced by bacteria. Five consecutive genes involved in the final synthesis of the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway, which could function as scavenging and repair genes, were detected as HGT. The full suite of these genes were detected in the cold-adapted diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus. This might give diatoms originating from the Southern Ocean, a region typically depleted in cobalamin, a competitive advantage. Overall, we show that HGT is a prevalent mechanism that is actively used in diatoms to expand its adaptive capabilities. Article in Journal/Newspaper Southern Ocean Ghent University Academic Bibliography Southern Ocean Molecular Biology and Evolution 37 11 3243 3257 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Ghent University Academic Bibliography |
op_collection_id |
ftunivgent |
language |
English |
topic |
Biology and Life Sciences Genetics Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Molecular Biology horizontal gene transfer diatoms vitamin B12 selection pressure MULTIPLE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT SYNEDRA-ACUS GENOME REVEAL IRON VITAMIN-B-12 ALGAE EXPRESSION FRAMEWORK |
spellingShingle |
Biology and Life Sciences Genetics Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Molecular Biology horizontal gene transfer diatoms vitamin B12 selection pressure MULTIPLE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT SYNEDRA-ACUS GENOME REVEAL IRON VITAMIN-B-12 ALGAE EXPRESSION FRAMEWORK Vancaester, Emmelien Depuydt, Thomas Osuna, Cristina Vandepoele, Klaas Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
topic_facet |
Biology and Life Sciences Genetics Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Molecular Biology horizontal gene transfer diatoms vitamin B12 selection pressure MULTIPLE SEQUENCE ALIGNMENT SYNEDRA-ACUS GENOME REVEAL IRON VITAMIN-B-12 ALGAE EXPRESSION FRAMEWORK |
description |
Diatoms are a diverse group of mainly photosynthetic algae, responsible for 20% of worldwide oxygen production, which can rapidly respond to favourable conditions and often outcompete other phytoplankton. We investigated the contribution of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) to its ecological success. A large-scale phylogeny-based prokaryotic HGT detection procedure across nine sequenced diatoms showed that 3-5% of their proteome has a horizontal origin and a large influx occurred at the ancestor of diatoms. More than 90% of HGT genes are expressed, and species-specific HGT genes in Phaeodactylum tricornutum undergo strong purifying selection. Genes derived from HGT are implicated in several processes including environmental sensing, and expand the metabolic toolbox. Cobalamin (vitamin B12) is an essential cofactor for roughly half of the diatoms and is only produced by bacteria. Five consecutive genes involved in the final synthesis of the cobalamin biosynthetic pathway, which could function as scavenging and repair genes, were detected as HGT. The full suite of these genes were detected in the cold-adapted diatom Fragilariopsis cylindrus. This might give diatoms originating from the Southern Ocean, a region typically depleted in cobalamin, a competitive advantage. Overall, we show that HGT is a prevalent mechanism that is actively used in diatoms to expand its adaptive capabilities. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Vancaester, Emmelien Depuydt, Thomas Osuna, Cristina Vandepoele, Klaas |
author_facet |
Vancaester, Emmelien Depuydt, Thomas Osuna, Cristina Vandepoele, Klaas |
author_sort |
Vancaester, Emmelien |
title |
Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
title_short |
Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
title_full |
Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
title_fullStr |
Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
title_full_unstemmed |
Comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
title_sort |
comprehensive and functional analysis of horizontal gene transfer events in diatoms |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8670450 https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450/file/8670451 |
geographic |
Southern Ocean |
geographic_facet |
Southern Ocean |
genre |
Southern Ocean |
genre_facet |
Southern Ocean |
op_source |
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTION ISSN: 0737-4038 ISSN: 1537-1719 |
op_relation |
https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450 http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-8670450 http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/8670450/file/8670451 |
op_rights |
No license (in copyright) info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msaa182 |
container_title |
Molecular Biology and Evolution |
container_volume |
37 |
container_issue |
11 |
container_start_page |
3243 |
op_container_end_page |
3257 |
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1768375821383237632 |