scholarly journals Whole genome phylogenies reflect the distributions of recombination rates for many bacterial species

eLife ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Sakoparnig ◽  
Chris Field ◽  
Erik van Nimwegen

Although recombination is accepted to be common in bacteria, for many species robust phylogenies with well-resolved branches can be reconstructed from whole genome alignments of strains, and these are generally interpreted to reflect clonal relationships. Using new methods based on the statistics of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) splits, we show that this interpretation is incorrect. For many species, each locus has recombined many times along its line of descent, and instead of many loci supporting a common phylogeny, the phylogeny changes many thousands of times along the genome alignment. Analysis of the patterns of allele sharing among strains shows that bacterial populations cannot be approximated as either clonal or freely recombining, but are structured such that recombination rates between lineages vary over several orders of magnitude, with a unique pattern of rates for each lineage. Thus, rather than reflecting clonal ancestry, whole genome phylogenies reflect distributions of recombination rates.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Sakoparnig ◽  
Chris Field ◽  
Erik van Nimwegen

AbstractAlthough homologous recombination is accepted to be common in bacteria, so far it has been challenging to accurately quantify its impact on genome evolution within bacterial species. We here introduce methods that use the statistics of single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) splits in the core genome alignment of a set of strains to show that, for many bacterial species, recombination dominates genome evolution. Each genomic locus has been overwritten so many times by recombination that it is impossible to reconstruct the clonal phylogeny and, instead of a consensus phylogeny, the phylogeny typically changes many thousands of times along the core genome alignment.We also show how SNP splits can be used to quantify the relative rates with which different subsets of strains have recombined in the past. We find that virtually every strain has a unique pattern of frequencies with which its lineages have recombined with those of other strains, and that the relative rates with which different subsets of strains share SNPs follow long-tailed distributions. Our findings show that bacterial populations are neither clonal nor freely recombining, but structured such that recombination rates between different lineages vary along a continuum spanning several orders of magnitude, with a unique pattern of rates for each lineage. Thus, rather than reflecting clonal ancestry, whole genome phylogenies reflect these long-tailed distributions of recombination rates.


2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (7) ◽  
pp. 2125-2132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Narjol Gonzalez-Escalona ◽  
Ruth Timme ◽  
Brian H. Raphael ◽  
Donald Zink ◽  
Shashi K. Sharma

ABSTRACTClostridium botulinumis a genetically diverse Gram-positive bacterium producing extremely potent neurotoxins (botulinum neurotoxins A through G [BoNT/A-G]). The complete genome sequences of three strains harboring only the BoNT/A1 nucleotide sequence are publicly available. Although these strains contain a toxin cluster (HA+OrfX−) associated with hemagglutinin genes, little is known about the genomes of subtype A1 strains (termed HA−OrfX+) that lack hemagglutinin genes in the toxin gene cluster. We sequenced the genomes of three BoNT/A1-producingC. botulinumstrains: two strains with the HA+OrfX−cluster (69A and 32A) and one strain with the HA−OrfX+cluster (CDC297). Whole-genome phylogenic single-nucleotide-polymorphism (SNP) analysis of these strains along with other publicly availableC. botulinumgroup I strains revealed five distinct lineages. Strains 69A and 32A clustered with theC. botulinumtype A1 Hall group, and strain CDC297 clustered with theC. botulinumtype Ba4 strain 657. This study reports the use of whole-genome SNP sequence analysis for discrimination ofC. botulinumgroup I strains and demonstrates the utility of this analysis in quickly differentiatingC. botulinumstrains harboring identical toxin gene subtypes. This analysis further supports previous work showing that strains CDC297 and 657 likely evolved from a common ancestor and independently acquired separate BoNT/A1 toxin gene clusters at distinct genomic locations.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 2340-2345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna E. Mroczkowska ◽  
Miriam Barlow

ABSTRACT bla TEM-1 expression results in penicillin resistance, whereas expression of many bla TEM-1 descendants, called extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs), results simultaneously in resistance to penicillins and extended-spectrum cephalosporins. Despite the expanded resistance phenotypes conferred by many ESBLs, bla TEM-1 is still the most abundant bla TEM allele in many microbial populations. This study examines the fitness effects of the two amino acid substitutions, R164S and E240K, that have occurred repeatedly among ESBL bla TEM-1 descendants. Using a single-nucleotide polymorphism-specific real-time quantitative PCR method, we analyzed the fitness of strains expressing bla TEM-1, bla TEM-10, and bla TEM-12. Our results show that bacteria expressing the ancestral bla TEM-1 allele have a fitness advantage over those expressing either bla TEM-10 or bla TEM-12 when exposed to ampicillin. This observation, combined with the fact that penicillins are the most prevalent antimicrobials prescribed worldwide, may explain why bla TEM-1 has persisted as the most frequently encountered bla TEM allele in bacterial populations.


Author(s):  
Xuan Zhou ◽  
Julius van der Werf ◽  
Kristin Carson‐Chahhoud ◽  
Guiyan Ni ◽  
John McGrath ◽  
...  

Background Both genetic and nongenetic factors can predispose individuals to cardiovascular risk. Finding ways to alter these predispositions is important for cardiovascular disease prevention. Methods and Results We used a novel whole‐genome approach to estimate the genetic and nongenetic effects on—and hence their predispositions to—cardiovascular risk and determined whether they vary with respect to lifestyle factors such as physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and dietary intake. We performed analyses on the ARIC (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities) Study (N=6896–7180) and validated findings using the UKBB (UK Biobank, N=14 076–34 538). Lifestyle modulation was evident for many cardiovascular traits such as body mass index and resting heart rate. For example, alcohol consumption modulated both genetic and nongenetic effects on body mass index, whereas smoking modulated nongenetic effects on heart rate, pulse pressure, and white blood cell count. We also stratified individuals according to estimated genetic and nongenetic effects that are modulated by lifestyle factors and showed distinct phenotype–lifestyle relationships across the stratified groups. Finally, we showed that neglecting lifestyle modulations of cardiovascular traits would on average reduce single nucleotide polymorphism heritability estimates of these traits by a small yet significant amount, primarily owing to the overestimation of residual variance. Conclusions Lifestyle changes are relevant to cardiovascular disease prevention. Individual differences in the genetic and nongenetic effects that are modulated by lifestyle factors, as shown by the stratified group analyses, implies a need for personalized lifestyle interventions. In addition, single nucleotide polymorphism–based heritability of cardiovascular traits without accounting for lifestyle modulations could be underestimated.


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