Naslov
Enzymes of the shikimic acid pathway encoded in the genome of the sea anemone Nematostella vectensis have microbial origins

Autori
Starcevic, Antonio ; Akthar, Shamima ; Dunlap, C. Walter ; Shick, Malcolm ; Hranueli, Daslav ; Cullum, John ; Long, F. Paul

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
6th ISS Congress / - Madison (WI) : International Symbiosis Society, 2009

Skup
6th International Symbiosis Society Congress

Mjesto i datum
Madison (WI), Sjedinjene Američke Države, 09.08.2009. - 15.08.2009

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
shikimic acid pathway; Cnidaria; Nematostella vectensis; basal Metazoa; symbiosis; Tenacibaculum

Sažetak
Enzymes of the shikimic acid pathway catalyse the biosynthesis of many aromatic compounds by a broad range of organisms, including bacteria, fungi, plants and some protozoans. Animals are considered to lack this pathway as evinced by their dietary requirement for shikimate-derived aromatic amino acids, anthranilate and folate. We aim to challenge the universality of this traditional view by annotating genes encoding enzymes of the shikimic acid pathway in the sequenced genome of the starlet sea anemone, Nematostella vectensis. The published DNA sequence of the N. vectensis genome was downloaded from StellaBase version 1.0 and translated into all six reading frames. For profile analyses, HMMER version 2.3.2 and release 20 of the Pfam database were used. Similarity searches were performed using the BLAST service at NCBI. Molecular evidence establishes the horizontal transfer of ancestral genes of the shikimic acid pathway into the Nematostella genome from both bacterial and eukaryotic (dinoflagellate) donors. In addition to dinoflagelate sequences, the published genome comprises a high content of Tenacibaculum-like gene orthologs, including a large 16S rRNA fragment that establishes these orthologs to originate from the Flavobacteriaceae. Bioinformatics analysis reveals four additional genes encoding enzyme orthologs of the shikimate pathway that are from an unrelated bacterial source, raising speculation for the existence of a previously unsuspected symbiont in this sea anemone. These results provide a complementary view of the biogenesis of shikimate-related metabolites in marine Cnidaria as a "shared metabolic adaptation" between an invertebrate host and its microbial consorts.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Biologija, Biotehnologija

POVEZANOST RADA