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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #196973
Title: COMPARATIVE GENOMICS OF METABOLIC PATHWAYS IN MYCOBACTERIUM SPECIES: GENE DUPLICATION, GENE DECAY AND LATERAL GENE TRANSFER

Author
item MARRI, PRADEEP - MCMASTER UNIV.
item Bannantine, John
item BOLDING, G - MCMASTER UNIV.

Submitted to: Federation of European Microbiological Societies Microbiology Reviews
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/17/2006
Publication Date: 11/1/2006
Citation: Marri, P.R., Bannantine, J.P., Bolding, G.B. 2006. Comparative genomics of metabolic pathways in Mycobacterium species: gene duplication, gene decay and lateral gene transfer. Federation of European Microbiological Societies Microbiology Reviews.30(6)906-925.

Interpretive Summary: This review is a comprehensive look at all of the currently sequenced mycobacterial genomes to date. Each of these mycobacterial genomes was compared using a variety of bioinformatic approaches. These data show that Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis is the largest of the mycobacterial genomes but yet has the smallest number of PE and PPE genes, which are thought to be involved in virulence. Most of the metabolic pathways used by the mycobacteria have been assembled based on genomic sequence data and the implications for growth of these organisms is discussed.

Technical Abstract: The genus Mycobacterium comprises medically significant species that infect both humans and animals. Mycobacteria are among the most studied pathogenic bacteria and have a severe impact on human populations. Five mycobacterial genomes belonging to four different species have been sequenced to date and many more are underway. Each of the sequenced mycobacterial species causes a different disease which is reflected in their gene complement constituting the various pathways. The variations are mostly in lipid metabolism, polyketide synthesis, cell envelope constituents and PE and PPE genes probably reflecting variations in pathogenicity and host specificity. Here we discuss the similarities and variations in the genes belonging to key pathways in the five sequenced mycobacterial genomes and discuss the possible implications of these variations.