Rare genomic changes as a tool for phylogenetics

Genome-wide identification and evolutionary analysis of Arabidopsis sm genes family

Sm proteins are members of a family of small proteins that are widespread in biosphere and found associated with RNA metabolism. To date, to our knowledge, only Arabidopsis SAD1 gene has been studied functionally in plant. In this study, 42 Sm genes are identified through comprehensive analysis in Arabidopsis. And a complete overview of this gene family is presented, including the gene structures, phylogeny, chromosome locations, selection pressure and expression. The results reveal that gene duplication contributes to the expansion of the Sm gene family in Arabidopsis genome, diverse expression patterns suggest their functional differentiation and divergence analysis indicates purifying selection as a key role in evolution. Our comparative genomics analysis of Sm genes will provide the first step towards the future experimental research on determining the functions of these genes.

Phylogenomic analyses and improved resolution of Cetartiodactyla

The remarkable antiquity, diversity, and significance in the ecology and evolution of Cetartiodactyla have inspired numerous attempts to resolve their phylogenetic relationships. However, previous analyses based on limited samples of nuclear genes or mitochondrial DNA sequences have generated results that were either inconsistent with one another, weakly supported, or highly sensitive to analytical conditions. Here, we present strongly supported results based upon over 1.4 Mb of an aligned DNA sequence matrix from 110 single-copy nuclear protein-coding genes of 21 Cetartiodactyla species, which represent major Cetartiodactyla lineages, and three species of Perissodactyla and Carnivora as outgroups. Phylogenetic analysis of this newly developed genomic sequence data using a codon-based model and recently developed models of the rate autocorrelation resolved the phylogenetic relationships of the major cetartiodactylan lineages and of those lineages with a high degree of confidence. Cetacea was found to nest within Artiodactyla as the sister group of Hippopotamidae, and Tylopoda was corroborated as the sole base clade of Cetartiodactyla. Within Cetacea, the monophyletic status of Odontoceti relative to Mysticeti, the basal position of Physeteroidea in Odontoceti, the non-monophyly of the river dolphins, and the sister relationship between Delphinidae and Monodontidae+Phocoenidae were strongly supported. In particular, the groups of Tursiops (bottlenose dolphins) and Stenella (spotted dolphins) were validated as unnatural groups. Additionally, a very narrow time frame of ∼3 My (million years) was found for the rapid diversification of delphinids in the late Miocene, which made it difficult to resolve the phylogenetic relationships within the Delphinidae, especially for previous studies with limited data sets. The present study provides a statistically well-supported phylogenetic framework of Cetartiodactyla, which represents an important step toward ending some of the often-heated, century-long debate on their evolution.

Ancestral and derived attributes of the dlx gene repertoire, cluster structure and expression patterns in an African cichlid fish

Background

Cichlid fishes have undergone rapid, expansive evolutionary radiations that are manifested in the diversification of their trophic morphologies, tooth patterning and coloration. Understanding the molecular mechanisms that underlie the cichlids' unique patterns of evolution requires a thorough examination of genes that pattern the neural crest, from which these diverse phenotypes are derived. Among those genes, the homeobox-containing Dlx gene family is of particular interest since it is involved in the patterning of the brain, jaws and teeth.

Results

In this study, we characterized the dlx genes of an African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni, to provide a baseline to later allow cross-species comparison within Cichlidae. We identified seven dlx paralogs (dlx1a, -2a, -4a, -3b, -4b, -5a and -6a), whose orthologies were validated with molecular phylogenetic trees. The intergenic regions of three dlx gene clusters (dlx1a-2a, dlx3b-4b, and dlx5a-6a) were amplified with long PCR. Intensive cross-species comparison revealed a number of conserved non-coding elements (CNEs) that are shared with other percomorph fishes. This analysis highlighted additional lineage-specific gains/losses of CNEs in different teleost fish lineages and a novel CNE that had previously not been identified. Our gene expression analyses revealed overlapping but distinct expression of dlx orthologs in the developing brain and pharyngeal arches. Notably, four of the seven A. burtoni dlx genes, dlx2a, dlx3b, dlx4a and dlx5a, were expressed in the developing pharyngeal teeth.

Conclusion

This comparative study of the dlx genes of A. burtoni has deepened our knowledge of the diversity of the Dlx gene family, in terms of gene repertoire, expression patterns and non-coding elements. We have identified possible cichlid lineage-specific changes, including losses of a subset of dlx expression domains in the pharyngeal teeth, which will be the targets of future functional studies.

Characterization of indels in poxvirus genomes

By comparing sets of variola virus (VARV) genomes and sets of vaccinia virus (VACV) genomes, it was found that the insertion and deletion of small pieces of DNA (3-25 nucleotides) were common events among these poxviruses. Insertion events were characterized by the creation of tandem direct repeats, whereas the deletion events generally took place between two direct repeats that were separated by a few nucleotides. A number of the VARV and VACV indels clearly did not fit the expected phylogenetic tree patterns. Some of these were found to be the result of coincident events, but others, in VACV, suggest recombination among the VACV genomes. Such recombination would make the construction of phylogenetic trees problematic. The growth of VACV under artificial conditions and at high multiplicities does not select against these deletions.

The homeodomain complement of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi suggests that Ctenophora and Porifera diverged prior to the ParaHoxozoa

Background

The much-debated phylogenetic relationships of the five early branching metazoan lineages (Bilateria, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Placozoa and Porifera) are of fundamental importance in piecing together events that occurred early in animal evolution. Comparisons of gene content between organismal lineages have been identified as a potentially useful methodology for phylogenetic reconstruction. However, these comparisons require complete genomes that, until now, did not exist for the ctenophore lineage. The homeobox superfamily of genes is particularly suited for these kinds of gene content comparisons, since it is large, diverse, and features a highly conserved domain.

Results

We have used a next-generation sequencing approach to generate a high-quality rough draft of the genome of the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi and subsequently identified a set of 76 homeobox-containing genes from this draft. We phylogenetically categorized this set into established gene families and classes and then compared this set to the homeodomain repertoire of species from the other four early branching metazoan lineages. We have identified several important classes and subclasses of homeodomains that appear to be absent from Mnemiopsis and from the poriferan Amphimedon queenslandica. We have also determined that, based on lineage-specific paralog retention and average branch lengths, it is unlikely that these missing classes and subclasses are due to extensive gene loss or unusually high rates of evolution in Mnemiopsis.

Conclusions

This paper provides a first glimpse of the first sequenced ctenophore genome. We have characterized the full complement of Mnemiopsis homeodomains from this species and have compared them to species from other early branching lineages. Our results suggest that Porifera and Ctenophora were the first two extant lineages to diverge from the rest of animals. Based on this analysis, we also propose a new name - ParaHoxozoa - for the remaining group that includes Placozoa, Cnidaria and Bilateria.

Functional significance may underlie the taxonomic utility of single amino acid substitutions in conserved proteins

We hypothesized that some amino acid substitutions in conserved proteins that are strongly fixed by critical functional roles would show lineage-specific distributions. As an example of an archetypal conserved eukaryotic protein we considered the active site of β-tubulin. Our analysis identified one amino acid substitution—β-tubulin F224—which was highly lineage specific. Investigation of β-tubulin for other phylogenetically restricted amino acids identified several with apparent specificity for well-defined phylogenetic groups. Intriguingly, none showed specificity for “supergroups” other than the unikonts. To understand why, we analysed the β-tubulin Neighbor-Net and demonstrated a fundamental division between core β-tubulins (plant-like) and divergent β-tubulins (animal and fungal). F224 was almost completely restricted to the core β-tubulins, while divergent β-tubulins possessed Y224. Thus, our specific example offers insight into the restrictions associated with the co-evolution of β-tubulin during the radiation of eukaryotes, underlining a fundamental dichotomy between F-type, core β-tubulins and Y-type, divergent β-tubulins. More broadly our study provides proof of principle for the taxonomic utility of critical amino acids in the active sites of conserved proteins.

Structural alterations in a component of cytochrome c oxidase and molecular evolution of pathogenic Neisseria in humans

Three closely related bacterial species within the genus Neisseria are of importance to human disease and health. Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of meningitis, while Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea and Neisseria lactamica is a common, harmless commensal of children. Comparative genomics have yet to yield clear insights into which factors dictate the unique host-parasite relationships exhibited by each since, as a group, they display remarkable conservation at the levels of nucleotide sequence, gene content and synteny. Here, we discovered two rare alterations in the gene encoding the CcoP protein component of cytochrome cbb₃ oxidase that are phylogenetically informative. One is a single nucleotide polymorphism resulting in CcoP truncation that acts as a molecular signature for the species N. meningitidis. We go on to show that the ancestral ccoP gene arose by a unique gene duplication and fusion event and is specifically and completely distributed within species of the genus Neisseria. Surprisingly, we found that strains engineered to express either of the two CcoP forms conditionally differed in their capacity to support nitrite-dependent, microaerobic growth mediated by NirK, a nitrite reductase. Thus, we propose that changes in CcoP domain architecture and ensuing alterations in function are key traits in successive, adaptive radiations within these metapopulations. These findings provide a dramatic example of how rare changes in core metabolic proteins can be connected to significant macroevolutionary shifts. They also show how evolutionary change at the molecular level can be linked to metabolic innovation and its reversal as well as demonstrating how genotype can be used to infer alterations of the fitness landscape within a single host.

The closely related bacterial species N. meningitidis, N. gonorrhoeae and N. lactamica exclusively colonise mucosal surfaces in humans. While N. gonorrhoeae leads to gonorrhea, the other two species persist mainly in their host in the absence of disease. N. meningitidis does occasionally cause severe, life threatening illness, however. Little is known about the factors and elements that dictate the unique human interactions exhibited by each species. Moreover, the evolutionary relationships between these species are poorly characterized. Here, we describe two successive alterations in a single gene that can be linked first to all species within the genus Neisseria and then the species N. meningitidis. We also show these signature alterations have phenotypic consequences by affecting core respiratory metabolic processes. These findings have significant implications for the evolution of related bacterial species within a single host and provide a novel perspective on the episodic and reversible nature of innovative adaptation.

Molecular signatures for the Crenarchaeota and the Thaumarchaeota

Crenarchaeotes found in mesophilic marine environments were recently placed into a new phylum of Archaea called the Thaumarchaeota. However, very few molecular characteristics of this new phylum are currently known which can be used to distinguish them from the Crenarchaeota. In addition, their relationships to deep-branching archaeal lineages are unclear. We report here detailed analyses of protein sequences from Crenarchaeota and Thaumarchaeota that have identified many conserved signature indels (CSIs) and signature proteins (SPs) (i.e., proteins for which all significant blast hits are from these groups) that are specific for these archaeal groups. Of the identified signatures 6 CSIs and 13 SPs are specific for the Crenarchaeota phylum; 6 CSIs and >250 SPs are uniquely found in various Thaumarchaeota (viz. Cenarchaeum symbiosum, Nitrosopumilus maritimus and a number of uncultured marine crenarchaeotes) and 3 CSIs and ~10 SPs are found in both Thaumarchaeota and Crenarchaeota species. Some of the molecular signatures are also present in Korarchaeum cryptofilum, which forms the independent phylum Korarchaeota. Although some of these molecular signatures suggest a distant shared ancestry between Thaumarchaeota and Crenarchaeota, our identification of large numbers of Thaumarchaeota-specific proteins and their deep branching between the Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota phyla in phylogenetic trees shows that they are distinct from both Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota in both genetic and phylogenetic terms. These observations support the placement of marine mesophilic archaea into the separate phylum Thaumarchaeota. Additionally, many CSIs and SPs have been found that are specific for different orders within Crenarchaeota (viz. Sulfolobales-3 CSIs and 169 SPs, Thermoproteales-5 CSIs and 25 SPs, Desulfurococcales-4 SPs, and Sulfolobales and Desulfurococcales-2 CSIs and 18 SPs). The signatures described here provide novel means for distinguishing the Crenarchaeota and the Thaumarchaeota and for the classification of related and novel species in different environments. Functional studies on these signature proteins could lead to discovery of novel biochemical properties that are unique to these groups of archaea.

Phylogenetic analysis of dicyemid mesozoans (phylum Dicyemida) from innexin amino acid sequences: dicyemids are not related to Platyhelminthes

Dicyemid mesozoans are endoparasites, or endosymbionts, found only in the renal sac of benthic cephalopod molluscs. The body organization of dicyemids is very simple, consisting of usually 10 to 40 cells, with neither body cavities nor differentiated organs. Dicyemids were considered as primitive animals, and the out-group of all metazoans, or as occupying a basal position of lophotrochozoans close to flatworms. We cloned cDNAs encoding for the gap junction component proteins, innexin, from the dicyemids. Its expression pattern was observed by whole-mount in situ hybridization. In adult individuals, the innexin was expressed in calottes, infusorigens, and infusoriform embryos. The unique temporal pattern was observed in the developing infusoriform embryos. Innexin amino acid sequences had taxon-specific indels which enabled identification of the 3 major protostome lineages, i.e., 2 ecdysozoans (arthropods and nematodes) and the lophotrochozoans. The dicyemids show typical, lophotrochozoan-type indels. In addition, the Bayesian and maximum likelihood trees based on the innexin amino acid sequences suggested dicyemids to be more closely related to the higher lophotrochozoans than to the flatworms. Flatworms were the sister group, or consistently basal, to the other lophotrochozoan clade that included dicyemids, annelids, molluscs, and brachiopods.

DNA typing in wildlife crime: recent developments in species identification

Species identification has become a tool in the investigation of acts of alleged wildlife crimes. This review details the steps required in DNA testing in wildlife crime investigations and highlights recent developments where not only can individual species be identified within a mixture of species but multiple species can be identified simultaneously. 'What species is this?' is a question asked frequently in wildlife crime investigations. Depending on the material being examined, DNA analysis may offer the best opportunity to answer this question. Species testing requires the comparison of the DNA type from the unknown sample to DNA types on a database. The areas of DNA tested are on the mitochondria and include predominantly the cytochrome b gene and the cytochrome oxidase I gene. Standard analysis requires the sequencing of part of one of these genes and comparing the sequence to that held on a repository of DNA sequences such as the GenBank database. Much of the DNA sequence of either of these two genes is conserved with only parts being variable. A recent development is to target areas of those sequences that are specific to a species; this can increase the sensitivity of the test with no loss of specificity. The benefit of targeting species specific sequences is that within a mixture of two of more species, the individual species within the mixture can be identified. This identification would not be possible using standard sequencing. These new developments can lead to a greater number of samples being tested in alleged wildlife crimes.

Molecular signatures for the main phyla of photosynthetic bacteria and their subgroups

The bacterial groups corresponding to different photosynthetic prokaryotes are presently identified mainly on the basis of their branching in phylogenetic trees. The availability of genome sequences is enabling identification of many molecular signatures that are specific for different groups of photosynthetic bacteria. Our recent work has identified large numbers of signatures consisting of conserved inserts or deletions (indels) in widely distributed proteins, as well as whole proteins that are specific for various sequenced species/strains from Cyanobacteria, Chlorobi, and Proteobacteria phyla. Based upon these signatures, it is now possible to identify/distinguish bacteria from these phyla of photosynthetic bacteria as well as their major subclades in clear molecular terms. The use of these signatures in conjunction with phylogenomic analyses, summarized here, is leading to a holistic picture concerning the branching order and evolutionary relationships among the above groups of photosynthetic bacteria. Although detailed studies in this regard have not yet been carried on Chloroflexi and Heliobacteriaceae, we have identified some conserved indels that are specific for these groups. Some of the conserved indels for the photosynthetic bacteria are present in photosynthesis-related proteins. These include a 4 aa insert in the pyruvate flavodoxin/ferridoxin oxidoreductase that is specific for the genus Chloroflexus, a 2 aa insert in magnesium chelatase that is uniquely shared by all Cyanobacteria except the deepest branching Clade A (Gloebacterales), a 6 aa insert in an A-type flavoprotein that is specific for various marine unicellular Cyanobacteria, a 2 aa insert in heme oxygenase that is specific for various Prochlorococcus strains/isolates, and 1 aa deletion in the protein protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase that is commonly shared by various Prochlorococcus strains except the deepest branching isolates MIT 9303 and MIT 9313. The identified CSIs are located in the structures of these proteins in surface loops indicating that they may be important in mediating protein-protein interactions. The cellular functions of these conserved indels, or most of the signature proteins are presently unknown, but they provide valuable means for discovering novel properties that are unique to different groups of photosynthetic bacteria.

Alignment of phylogenetically unambiguous indels in Shewanella

High levels of alignment errors associated with gaps have generally meant their exclusion from phylogenetic analysis. Conserved inserts and deletions (indels) may in some cases be less subject to errors than amino acid substitutions for inferring the history of genomes and identifying recently laterally transferred genes, but alignment error near gaps must be evaluated prior to using indels as phylogenetic characters. A method is presented for evaluating the phylogenetic unambiguity of gaps in multiple sequence alignments by allowing a defined amount of pairwise alignment ambiguity. This work considers the bacterial genus Shewanella, which is of particular interest for applications of bioremediation and environmental engineering. Understanding the genetic history of these species is vital for these applications. A set of pairwise dynamic programming alignments is constructed to test positions in multiple alignments for phylogenetic unambiguity, and a whole genome scan is done on protein sequences from 11 sequenced species of the bacterial genus Shewanella. The splits defined by phylogenetically unambiguous indels are then used as characters for phylogenetic analysis, and results are compared to whole genome Maximum Likelihood phylogeny. A comparable description of the history of the species is found, as well as a set of lateral gene transfer candidates undetectable by traditional analysis of amino acid substitutions. This analysis is applicable to other taxonomic units at all levels and has the potential to allow cataloging of clear genome-wide phylogenetic markers for taxonomic profiling down to the species level.

The origin and early evolution of eukaryotes in the light of phylogenomics

Phylogenomics of eukaryote supergroups suggest a highly complex last common ancestor of eukaryotes and a key role of mitochondrial endosymbiosis in the origin of eukaryotes.

En route to a genome-based classification of Archaea and Bacteria?

Given the considerable promise whole-genome sequencing offers for phylogeny and classification, it is surprising that microbial systematics and genomics have not yet been reconciled. This might be due to the intrinsic difficulties in inferring reasonable phylogenies from genomic sequences, particularly in the light of the significant amount of lateral gene transfer in prokaryotic genomes. However, recent studies indicate that the species tree and the hierarchical classification based on it are still meaningful concepts, and that state-of-the-art phylogenetic inference methods are able to provide reliable estimates of the species tree to the benefit of taxonomy. Conversely, we suspect that the current lack of completely sequenced genomes for many of the major lineages of prokaryotes and for most type strains is a major obstacle in progress towards a genome-based classification of microorganisms. We conclude that phylogeny-driven microbial genome sequencing projects such as the Genomic Encyclopaedia of Archaea and Bacteria (GEBA) project are likely to rectify this situation.

Molecular systematics: A synthesis of the common methods and the state of knowledge

The comparative and evolutionary analysis of molecular data has allowed researchers to tackle biological questions that have long remained unresolved. The evolution of DNA and amino acid sequences can now be modeled accurately enough that the information conveyed can be used to reconstruct the past. The methods to infer phylogeny (the pattern of historical relationships among lineages of organisms and/or sequences) range from the simplest, based on parsimony, to more sophisticated and highly parametric ones based on likelihood and Bayesian approaches. In general, molecular systematics provides a powerful statistical framework for hypothesis testing and the estimation of evolutionary processes, including the estimation of divergence times among taxa. The field of molecular systematics has experienced a revolution in recent years, and, although there are still methodological problems and pitfalls, it has become an essential tool for the study of evolutionary patterns and processes at different levels of biological organization. This review aims to present a brief synthesis of the approaches and methodologies that are most widely used in the field of molecular systematics today, as well as indications of future trends and state-of-the-art approaches.

Signature proteins for the major clades of Cyanobacteria

BACKGROUND

The phylogeny and taxonomy of cyanobacteria is currently poorly understood due to paucity of reliable markers for identification and circumscription of its major clades.

RESULTS

A combination of phylogenomic and protein signature based approaches was used to characterize the major clades of cyanobacteria. Phylogenetic trees were constructed for 44 cyanobacteria based on 44 conserved proteins. In parallel, Blastp searches were carried out on each ORF in the genomes of Synechococcus WH8102, Synechocystis PCC6803, Nostoc PCC7120, Synechococcus JA-3-3Ab, Prochlorococcus MIT9215 and Prochlor. marinus subsp. marinus CCMP1375 to identify proteins that are specific for various main clades of cyanobacteria. These studies have identified 39 proteins that are specific for all (or most) cyanobacteria and large numbers of proteins for other cyanobacterial clades. The identified signature proteins include: (i) 14 proteins for a deep branching clade (Clade A) of Gloebacter violaceus and two diazotrophic Synechococcus strains (JA-3-3Ab and JA2-3-B'a); (ii) 5 proteins that are present in all other cyanobacteria except those from Clade A; (iii) 60 proteins that are specific for a clade (Clade C) consisting of various marine unicellular cyanobacteria (viz. Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus); (iv) 14 and 19 signature proteins that are specific for the Clade C Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus strains, respectively; (v) 67 proteins that are specific for the Low B/A ecotype Prochlorococcus strains, containing lower ratio of chl b/a2 and adapted to growth at high light intensities; (vi) 65 and 8 proteins that are specific for the Nostocales and Chroococcales orders, respectively; and (vii) 22 and 9 proteins that are uniquely shared by various Nostocales and Oscillatoriales orders, or by these two orders and the Chroococcales, respectively. We also describe 3 conserved indels in flavoprotein, heme oxygenase and protochlorophyllide oxidoreductase proteins that are specific for either Clade C cyanobacteria or for various subclades of Prochlorococcus. Many other conserved indels for cyanobacterial clades have been described recently.

CONCLUSIONS

These signature proteins and indels provide novel means for circumscription of various cyanobacterial clades in clear molecular terms. Their functional studies should lead to discovery of novel properties that are unique to these groups of cyanobacteria.

Estimating true evolutionary distances under rearrangements, duplications, and losses

Background

The rapidly increasing availability of whole-genome sequences has enabled the study of whole-genome evolution. Evolutionary mechanisms based on genome rearrangements have attracted much attention and given rise to many models; somewhat independently, the mechanisms of gene duplication and loss have seen much work. However, the two are not independent and thus require a unified treatment, which remains missing to date. Moreover, existing rearrangement models do not fit the dichotomy between most prokaryotic genomes (one circular chromosome) and most eukaryotic genomes (multiple linear chromosomes).

Results

To handle rearrangements, gene duplications and losses, we propose a new evolutionary model and the corresponding method for estimating true evolutionary distance. Our model, inspired from the DCJ model, is simple and the first to respect the prokaryotic/eukaryotic structural dichotomy. Experimental results on a wide variety of genome structures demonstrate the very high accuracy and robustness of our distance estimator.

Conclusion

We give the first robust, statistically based, estimate of genomic pairwise distances based on rearrangements, duplications and losses, under a model that respects the structural dichotomy between prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes. Accurate and robust estimates in true evolutionary distances should translate into much better phylogenetic reconstructions as well as more accurate genomic alignments, while our new model of genome rearrangements provides another refinement in simplicity and verisimilitude.

Genome-based phylogenetic analysis of Streptomyces and its relatives

MOTIVATION

Streptomyces is one of the best-studied genera of the order Actinomycetales due to its great importance in medical science, ecology and the biotechnology industry. A comprehensive, detailed and robust phylogeny of Streptomyces and its relatives is needed for understanding how this group emerged and maintained such a vast diversity throughout evolution and how soil-living mycelial forms (e.g., Streptomyces s. str.) are related to parasitic, unicellular pathogens (e.g., Mycobacterium tuberculosis) or marine species (e.g., Salinispora tropica). The most important application area of such a phylogenetic analysis will be in the comparative re-annotation of genome sequences and the reconstruction of Streptomyces metabolic networks for biotechnology.

METHODS

Classical 16S-rRNA-based phylogenetic reconstruction does not guarantee to produce well-resolved robust trees that reflect the overall relationship between bacterial species with widespread horizontal gene transfer. In our study we therefore combine three whole genome-based phylogenies with eight different, highly informative single-gene phylogenies to determine a new robust consensus tree of 45 Actinomycetales species with completely sequenced genomes.

RESULTS

None of the individual methods achieved a resolved phylogeny of Streptomyces and its relatives. Single-gene approaches failed to yield a detailed phylogeny; even though the single trees are in good agreement among each other, they show very low resolution of inner branches. The three whole genome-based methods improve resolution considerably. Only by combining the phylogenies from single gene-based and genome-based approaches we finally obtained a consensus tree with well-resolved branches for the entire set of Actinomycetales species. This phylogenetic information is stable and informative enough for application to the system-wide comparative modeling of bacterial physiology.

Large-scale parsimony analysis of metazoan indels in protein-coding genes

Insertions and deletions (indels) are considered to be rare evolutionary events, the analysis of which may resolve controversial phylogenetic relationships. Indeed, indel characters are often assumed to be less homoplastic than amino acid and nucleotide substitutions and, consequently, more reliable markers for phylogenetic reconstruction. In this study, we analyzed indels from over 1,000 metazoan orthologous genes. We studied the impact of different species sampling, ortholog data sets, lengths of included indels, and indel-coding methods on the resulting metazoan tree. Our results show that, similar to sequence substitutions, indels are homoplastic characters, and their analysis is sensitive to the long-branch attraction artifact. Furthermore, improving the taxon sampling and choosing a closely related outgroup greatly impact the phylogenetic inference. Our indel-based inferences support the Ecdysozoa hypothesis over the Coelomata hypothesis and suggest that sponges are a sister clade to other animals.

Whole-genome phylogeny of mammals: evolutionary information in genic and nongenic regions

Ten complete mammalian genome sequences were compared by using the "feature frequency profile" (FFP) method of alignment-free comparison. This comparison technique reveals that the whole nongenic portion of mammalian genomes contains evolutionary information that is similar to their genic counterparts--the intron and exon regions. We partitioned the complete genomes of mammals (such as human, chimp, horse, and mouse) into their constituent nongenic, intronic, and exonic components. Phylogenic species trees were constructed for each individual component class of genome sequence data as well as the whole genomes by using standard tree-building algorithms with FFP distances. The phylogenies of the whole genomes and each of the component classes (exonic, intronic, and nongenic regions) have similar topologies, within the optimal feature length range, and all agree well with the evolutionary phylogeny based on a recent large dataset, multispecies, and multigene-based alignment. In the strictest sense, the FFP-based trees are genome phylogenies, not species phylogenies. However, the species phylogeny is highly related to the whole-genome phylogeny. Furthermore, our results reveal that the footprints of evolutionary history are spread throughout the entire length of the whole genome of an organism and are not limited to genes, introns, or short, highly conserved, nongenic sequences that can be adversely affected by factors (such as a choice of sequences, homoplasy, and different mutation rates) resulting in inconsistent species phylogenies.

Fine-scale mergers of chloroplast and mitochondrial genes create functional, transcompartmentally chimeric mitochondrial genes

The mitochondrial genomes of flowering plants possess a promiscuous proclivity for taking up sequences from the chloroplast genome. All characterized chloroplast integrants exist apart from native mitochondrial genes, and only a few, involving chloroplast tRNA genes that have functionally supplanted their mitochondrial counterparts, appear to be of functional consequence. We developed a novel computational approach to search for homologous recombination (gene conversion) in a large number of sequences and applied it to 22 mitochondrial and chloroplast gene pairs, which last shared common ancestry some 2 billion years ago. We found evidence of recurrent conversion of short patches of mitochondrial genes by chloroplast homologs during angiosperm evolution, but no evidence of gene conversion in the opposite direction. All 9 putative conversion events involve the atp1/atpA gene encoding the alpha subunit of ATP synthase, which is unusually well conserved between the 2 organelles and the only shared gene that is widely sequenced across plant mitochondria. Moreover, all conversions were limited to the 2 regions of greatest nucleotide and amino acid conservation of atp1/atpA. These observations probably reflect constraints operating on both the occurrence and fixation of recombination between ancient homologs. These findings indicate that recombination between anciently related sequences is more frequent than previously appreciated and creates functional mitochondrial genes of chimeric origin. These results also have implications for the widespread use of mitochondrial atp1 in phylogeny reconstruction.

Complete mitochondrial genome of brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), and phylogenetic relationships of hemipteran suborders

The newly sequenced complete mitochondrial genome of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys (Stål) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), is a circular molecule of 16,518 bp with a total A+T content of 76.4% and two extensive repeat regions in A+T rich region. Nucleotide composition and codon usage of H. halys are about average when compared with values observed in 19 other published hemipteran mitochondrial genomes. Phylogenetic analyses using these 20 hemipteran mitochondrial genomes support the currently accepted hypothesis that suborders Heteroptera and Auchenorrhyncha form a monophyletic group. The mitochondrial gene arrangements of the 20 genomes=are also consistent with our results.

A molecular phylogenetic survey of caprimulgiform nightbirds illustrates the utility of non-coding sequences

The order Caprimulgiformes comprises five bird families adapted to nocturnal activity. The order has been regarded as monophyletic, but recent evidence suggests that swifts and hummingbirds (Apodiformes) belong within it. To explore the group's phylogeny, we obtained more than 2000 bp of DNA sequence from the cytochrome b and c-myc genes for 35 taxa, representing all major lineages and outgroups. Non-coding sequences of the c-myc gene were unsaturated, readily alignable and contained numerous informative insertions and deletions (indels), signalling broad utility for higher level phylogenetics. A 12 bp insertion in c-myc links Apodiformes with owlet-nightjars, confirming paraphyly of the traditional Caprimulgiformes. However, even this rare genomic change is homoplasious when all birds are considered. Monophyly of each of the five traditional families was strongly confirmed, but relationships among families were poorly resolved. The tree structure argues against family status for Eurostopodus and Batrachostomus, which should be retained in Caprimulgidae and Podargidae, respectively. The genus Caprimulgus and both subfamilies of Caprimulgidae appear to be polyphyletic. The phylogeny elucidates the evolution of adaptive traits such as nocturnality and hypothermia, but whether nocturnality evolved once or multiple times is an open question.

Experimental design in caecilian systematics: phylogenetic information of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rag1

In molecular phylogenetic studies, a major aspect of experimental design concerns the choice of markers and taxa. Although previous studies have investigated the phylogenetic performance of different genes and the effectiveness of increasing taxon sampling, their conclusions are partly contradictory, probably because they are highly context specific and dependent on the group of organisms used in each study. Goldman introduced a method for experimental design in phylogenetics based on the expected information to be gained that has barely been used in practice. Here we use this method to explore the phylogenetic utility of mitochondrial (mt) genes, mt genomes, and nuclear rag1 for studies of the systematics of caecilian amphibians, as well as the effect of taxon addition on the stabilization of a controversial branch of the tree. Overall phylogenetic information estimates per gene, specific estimates per branch of the tree, estimates for combined (mitogenomic) data sets, and estimates as a hypothetical new taxon is added to different parts of the caecilian tree are calculated and compared. In general, the most informative data sets are those for mt transfer and ribosomal RNA genes. Our results also show at which positions in the caecilian tree the addition of taxa have the greatest potential to increase phylogenetic information with respect to the controversial relationships of Scolecomorphus, Boulengerula, and all other teresomatan caecilians. These positions are, as intuitively expected, mostly (but not all) adjacent to the controversial branch. Generating whole mitogenomic and rag1 data for additional taxa joining the Scolecomorphus branch may be a more efficient strategy than sequencing a similar amount of additional nucleotides spread across the current caecilian taxon sampling. The methodology employed in this study allows an a priori evaluation and testable predictions of the appropriateness of particular experimental designs to solve specific questions at different levels of the caecilian phylogeny.

Animal evolution: once upon a time

The evolutionary relationships between the earliest branches of the animal kingdom - bilaterians, cnidarians, ctenophores, sponges and placozoans - are contentious. A new phylogenomic analysis suggests a return to old ideas.

Mitochondrial insertions into primate nuclear genomes suggest the use of numts as a tool for phylogeny

Homoplasy-free characters are a valuable and highly desired tool for molecular systematics. Nuclear sequences of mitochondrial origin (numts) are fragments of mitochondrial DNA that have been transferred into the nuclear genome. numts are passively captured into genomes and have no transposition activity, which suggests they may have utility as phylogenetic markers. Here, five fully sequenced primate genomes (human, chimpanzee, orangutan, rhesus macaque, and marmoset) are used to reconstruct the evolutionary dynamics of recent numt accumulation in a phylogenetic context. The status of 367 numt loci is used as categorical data, and a maximum parsimony approach is used to trace numt insertions on different branches of the taxonomically undisputed primate phylogenetic tree. The presence of a given numt in related taxa implies orthologous integration, whereas the absence of a numt indicates the plesiomorphic condition prior to integration. An average rate of 5.65 numts per 1 My is estimated on the tree, but insertion rates vary significantly on different branches. Two instances in which the presence-absence pattern of numts does not agree with the phylogenetic tree were identified. These events may be the result of either lineage sorting or reversal. Using the numts reported here to reconstruct primate phylogeny produces the canonical primate tree topology with high bootstrap support. Moreover, numts identified in gorilla Supercontigs were used to test the human-chimp-gorilla trichotomy, yielding a high level of support for the sister relationship of human and chimpanzee. These analyses suggest that numts are valuable phylogenetic markers that can be used for molecular systematics. It remains to be tested whether numts are useful at deeper phylogenetic levels.

Genome flexibility in Neisseria meningitidis

Neisseria meningitidis usually lives as a commensal bacterium in the upper airways of humans. However, occasionally some strains can also cause life-threatening diseases such as sepsis and bacterial meningitis. Comparative genomics demonstrates that only very subtle genetic differences between carriage and disease strains might be responsible for the observed virulence differences and that N. meningitidis is, evolutionarily, a very recent species. Comparative genome sequencing also revealed a panoply of genetic mechanisms underlying its enormous genomic flexibility which also might affect the virulence of particular strains. From these studies, N. meningitidis emerges as a paradigm for organisms that use genome variability as an adaptation to changing and thus challenging environments.

Analysis of rare genomic changes does not support the unikont-bikont phylogeny and suggests cyanobacterial symbiosis as the point of primary radiation of eukaryotes

The deep phylogeny of eukaryotes is an important but extremely difficult problem of evolutionary biology. Five eukaryotic supergroups are relatively well established but the relationship between these supergroups remains elusive, and their divergence seems to best fit a “Big Bang” model. Attempts were made to root the tree of eukaryotes by using potential derived shared characters such as unique fusions of conserved genes. One popular model of eukaryotic evolution that emerged from this type of analysis is the unikont–bikont phylogeny: The unikont branch consists of Metazoa, Choanozoa, Fungi, and Amoebozoa, whereas bikonts include the rest of eukaryotes, namely, Plantae (green plants, Chlorophyta, and Rhodophyta), Chromalveolata, excavates, and Rhizaria. We reexamine the relationships between the eukaryotic supergroups using a genome-wide analysis of rare genomic changes (RGCs) associated with multiple, conserved amino acids (RGC_CAMs and RGC_CAs), to resolve trifurcations of major eukaryotic lineages. The results do not support the basal position of Chromalveolata with respect to Plantae and unikonts or the monophyly of the bikont group and appear to be best compatible with the monophyly of unikonts and Chromalveolata. Chromalveolata show a distinct, additional signal of affinity with Plantae, conceivably, owing to genes transferred from the secondary, red algal symbiont. Excavates are derived forms, with extremely long branches that complicate phylogenetic inference; nevertheless, the RGC analysis suggests that they are significantly more likely to cluster with the unikont–Chromalveolata assemblage than with the Plantae. Thus, the first split in eukaryotic evolution might lie between photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic forms and so could have been triggered by the endosymbiosis between an ancestral unicellular eukaryote and a cyanobacterium that gave rise to the chloroplast.

Phylogenetic information complexity: is testing a tree easier than finding it?

Phylogenetic trees describe the evolutionary history of a group of present-day species from a common ancestor. These trees are typically reconstructed from aligned DNA sequence data. In this paper we analytically address the following question: Is the amount of sequence data required to accurately reconstruct a tree significantly more than the amount required to test whether or not a candidate tree was the 'true' tree? By 'significantly', we mean that the two quantities do not behave the same way as a function of the number of species being considered. We prove that, for a certain type of model, the amount of information required is not significantly different; while for another type of model, the information required to test a tree is independent of the number of leaves, while that required to reconstruct it grows with this number. Our results combine probabilistic and combinatorial arguments.

Phylogenomic analyses of clostridia and identification of novel protein signatures that are specific to the genus Clostridium sensu stricto (cluster I)

The species of Clostridium comprise a very heterogeneous assemblage of bacteria that do not form a phylogenetically coherent group. It has been proposed previously that only a subset of the species of Clostridium that form a distinct cluster in the 16S rRNA tree (cluster I) should be regarded as the true representatives of the genus Clostridium (i.e. Clostridium sensu stricto). However, this cluster is presently defined only in phylogenetic terms, and no biochemical, molecular or phenotypic characteristic is known that is unique to species from this cluster. We report here phylogenomic and comparative analyses based on sequenced clostridial genomes in an attempt to bridge this gap and to clarify the evolutionary relationships among species of clostridia. In phylogenetic trees for species of clostridia based on concatenated sequences for 37 highly conserved proteins, the species of Clostridium cluster I formed a strongly supported clade that was separated from all other clostridia by a long branch. Several other Clostridium species that are not part of this cluster grouped reliably with other species of clostridia in a number of well-resolved clades. Our comparative genomic analyses have identified three conserved indels in three highly conserved proteins (a 4 aa insert in DNA gyrase A, a 1 aa deletion in ATP synthase beta subunit and a 1 aa insert in ribosomal protein S2) that are unique to the species of Clostridium cluster I and are not found in any other bacteria. blastp searches on various proteins in the genomes of Clostridium tetani E88 and Clostridium perfringens SM101 have also identified more than 10 proteins that are found uniquely in the cluster I species. These results provide evidence that the species of Clostridium cluster I not only are phylogenetically distinct but also share many unique molecular characteristics. These newly identified molecular markers provide useful tools to define and circumscribe the genus Clostridium sensu stricto in more definitive terms. We have also identified a 7-9 aa conserved insert in the enzyme phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase that is uniquely found in the Clostridium thermocellum, Thermoanaerobacter pseudethanolicus, Thermoanaerobacter tengcogensis and Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus homologues, and is absent from all other bacteria. These species form a well-defined clade in the phylogenetic trees and this indel provides a potential molecular marker for this clostridial cluster.

Retroposon analysis and recent geological data suggest near-simultaneous divergence of the three superorders of mammals

As a consequence of recent developments in molecular phylogenomics, all extant orders of placental mammals have been grouped into 3 lineages: Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreotheria, which originated in Africa, South America, and Laurasia, respectively. Despite this advancement, the order of divergence of these 3 lineages remains unresolved. Here, we performed extensive retroposon analysis with mammalian genomic data. Surprisingly, we identified a similar number of informative retroposon loci that support each of 3 possible phylogenetic hypotheses: the basal position for Afrotheria (22 loci), Xenarthra (25 loci), and Boreotheria (21 loci). This result indicates that the divergence of the placental common ancestor into the 3 lineages occurred nearly simultaneously. Thus, we examined whether these molecular data could be integrated into the geological context by incorporating recent geological data. We obtained firm evidence that complete separation of Gondwana into Africa and South America occurred 120 +/- 10 Ma. Accordingly, the previous reported time frame (division of Pangea into Gondwana and Laurasia at 148-138 Ma and division of Gondwana at 105 Ma) cannot be used to validate mammalian divergence order. Instead, we use our retroposon results and the recent geological data to propose that near-simultaneous divisions of continents leading to isolated Africa, South America, and Laurasia caused nearly concomitant divergence of the ancient placental ancestor into 3 lineages, Afrotheria, Xenarthra, and Boreotheria, approximately 120 Ma.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the cyclopoid copepod Paracyclopina nana: a highly divergent genome with novel gene order and atypical gene numbers

In this paper, we describe the complete mitogenome of the cyclopoid copepod Paracyclopina nana with emphasis on the highly rearranged gene order and high divergence against published copepod mitogenomes. The P. nana mtDNA is 15,981 bp in length (70.9% AT) and consists of 37 genes (12 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNAs, 23 tRNAs) that are atypical for metazoan mitogenomes. Unusually, it contains an extra tRNA (tRNA-Ala) but it does not contain the ATPase 8 gene. The P. nana mitogenome has a long putative control region with high AT content (1351 bp, 77.0% AT). The Cyt b was considerably short in length, compared to other crustaceans. Compared to typical mitogenomes of arthropods and copepods, the gene order of the P. nana mitogenome is highly rearranged with a novel gene structure. In addition, P. nana has highly divergent mt genes (mostly less than 50%), judged by amino acid substitution. We present the first complete mitogenome sequence from a cyclopoid copepod, thereby increasing our understanding of copepod and crustacean evolution from the mitochondrial point of view.

Conserved inserts in the Hsp60 (GroEL) and Hsp70 (DnaK) proteins are essential for cellular growth

The Hsp60 and Hsp70 chaperones contain a number of conserved inserts that are restricted to particular phyla of bacteria. A one aa insert in the E. coli GroEL and a 21-23 insert in the DnaK proteins are specific for most Gram-negative bacteria. Two other inserts in DnaK are limited to certain groups of proteobacteria. The requirement of these inserts for cellular growth was examined by carrying out complementation studies with temperature-sensitive (T(s)) mutants of E. coli groEL or dnaK. Our results demonstrate that deletion or most changes in these inserts completely abolished the complementation ability of the mutant proteins. Studies with GroEL and DnaK from some other species that either lacked or contained these inserts also indicated that these inserts are essential for growth of E. coli. The DnaK from some bacteria contains a two aa insert that is not found in E. coli. Introduction of this insert into the E. coli DnaK also led to its inactivation, indicating that these inserts are specific for different groups. We postulate that these conserved inserts that are localized in loop regions on protein surfaces, are involved in some ancillary functions that are essential for the groups of bacteria where they are found.

Mitochondrial gene rearrangements: new paradigm in the evolutionary biology and systematics

Mitochondrial (mt) genomic study may reveal significant insight into the molecular evolution and several other aspects of genome evolution such as gene rearrangements evolution, gene regulation, and replication mechanisms. Other questions such as patterns of gene expression mechanism evolution, genomic variation and its correlation with physiology, and other molecular and biochemical mechanisms can be addressed by the mt genomics. Rare genomic changes have attracted evolutionary biology community for providing homoplasy free evidence of phylogenetic relationships. Gene rearrangements are considered to be rare evolutionary events and are being used to reconstruct the phylogeny of diverse group of organisms. Mt gene rearrangements have been established as a hotspot for the phylogenetic and evolutionary analysis of closely as well as distantly related organisms.

Tree of life based on genome context networks

Efforts in phylogenomics have greatly improved our understanding of the backbone tree of life. However, due to the systematic error in sequence data, a sequence-based phylogenomic approach leads to well-resolved but statistically significant incongruence. Thus, independent test of current phylogenetic knowledge is required. Here, we have devised a distance-based strategy to reconstruct a highly resolved backbone tree of life, on the basis of the genome context networks of 195 fully sequenced representative species. Along with strongly supporting the monophylies of three superkingdoms and most taxonomic sub-divisions, the derived tree also suggests some intriguing results, such as high G+C gram positive origin of Bacteria, classification of Symbiobacterium thermophilum and Alcanivorax borkumensis in Firmicutes. Furthermore, simulation analyses indicate that addition of more gene relationships with high accuracy can greatly improve the resolution of the phylogenetic tree. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of the reconstruction of highly resolved phylogenetic tree with extensible gene networks across all three domains of life. This strategy also implies that the relationships between the genes (gene network) can define what kind of species it is.

Accounting for horizontal gene transfers explains conflicting hypotheses regarding the position of aquificales in the phylogeny of Bacteria

Background

Despite a large agreement between ribosomal RNA and concatenated protein phylogenies, the phylogenetic tree of the bacterial domain remains uncertain in its deepest nodes. For instance, the position of the hyperthermophilic Aquificales is debated, as their commonly observed position close to Thermotogales may proceed from horizontal gene transfers, long branch attraction or compositional biases, and may not represent vertical descent. Indeed, another view, based on the analysis of rare genomic changes, places Aquificales close to epsilon-Proteobacteria.

Results

To get a whole genome view of Aquifex relationships, all trees containing sequences from Aquifex in the HOGENOM database were surveyed. This study revealed that Aquifex is most often found as a neighbour to Thermotogales. Moreover, informational genes, which appeared to be less often transferred to the Aquifex lineage than non-informational genes, most often placed Aquificales close to Thermotogales. To ensure these results did not come from long branch attraction or compositional artefacts, a subset of carefully chosen proteins from a wide range of bacterial species was selected for further scrutiny. Among these genes, two phylogenetic hypotheses were found to be significantly more likely than the others: the most likely hypothesis placed Aquificales as a neighbour to Thermotogales, and the second one with epsilon-Proteobacteria. We characterized the genes that supported each of these two hypotheses, and found that differences in rates of evolution or in amino-acid compositions could not explain the presence of two incongruent phylogenetic signals in the alignment. Instead, evidence for a large Horizontal Gene Transfer between Aquificales and epsilon-Proteobacteria was found.

Conclusion

Methods based on concatenated informational proteins and methods based on character cladistics led to different conclusions regarding the position of Aquificales because this lineage has undergone many horizontal gene transfers. However, if a tree of vertical descent can be reconstructed for Bacteria, our results suggest Aquificales should be placed close to Thermotogales.