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Rahbar MR, Zarei M, Jahangiri A, Khalili S, Nezafat N, Negahdaripour M, Fattahian Y, Savardashtaki A, Ghasemi Y. Non-adaptive Evolution of Trimeric Autotransporters in Brucellaceae. Front Microbiol 2020; 11:560667. [PMID: 33281759 PMCID: PMC7688925 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.560667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Brucella species are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular pathogens. They are the main cause of brucellosis, which has led to a global health burden. Adherence of the pathogen to the host cells is the first step in the infection process. The bacteria can adhere to various biotic and abiotic surfaces using their outer membrane proteins. Trimeric autotransporter adhesins (TAAs) are modular homotrimers of various length and domain complexity. They are a diverse, and widespread gene family constituting the type Vc secretion pathway. These adhesins have been established as virulence factors in Brucellaceae. To date, no comprehensive and exhaustive study has been performed on the trimeric autotransporter family in the genus. In the present study, various bioinformatics tools were used to provide a novel evolutionary insight into the sequence and structure of this protein family in Brucellaceae. To this end, a dataset of all trimeric autotransporters from the Brucella genomes was built. Analyses included but were not limited to sequence alignment, phylogenetic tree constructions, codon-based test for selection, clustering of the sequences, and structure (primary to quaternary) predictions. Batch analyzes of the dataset suggested the existence of a few structural domains within the whole population. BatA from the B. abortus 2308 genome was selected as a reference to describe the features of these structural domains. Furthermore, we examined the structural basis for the observed rigidity and resiliency of the protein structure through a molecular dynamics evaluation, which led us to deduce that the random drift results in the non-adaptive evolution of the trimeric autotransporter genes in the Brucella genus. Notably, the modifications have occurred across the genus without interference of gene transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad Reza Rahbar
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mahboubeh Zarei
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Abolfazl Jahangiri
- Applied Microbiology Research Center, Systems Biology and Poisonings Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Saeed Khalili
- Department of Biology Sciences, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Navid Nezafat
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Manica Negahdaripour
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Yaser Fattahian
- Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science and High Technology and Environmental Sciences, Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, Iran
| | - Amir Savardashtaki
- Department of Medical Biotechnology, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Younes Ghasemi
- Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.,Department of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, School of Pharmacy, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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