top of page

Acinetobacter junii

 

We identified a gene in Acinetobacter junii which may have resulted from horizontal gene transfer: HMPREF0026_02749, a mercury(II) reductase. This gene had GC content which was 7.07 standard deviations away from the mean GC content for the organism, making it highly unlikely that it was due to chance. This gene was also corroborated several times using DarkHorse. This gene was similar in sequence to those found in Clostridium difficile, Clostridium hylemonae, Clostridium ramosum, and Escherichia coli. These genes in turn showed phylogenetic discrepancies with Campylobacter jejuni (LPI 0.461), Deinococcus geothermalis (LPI 0.463), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (LPI 0.49), and Streptomyces (LPI 0.44) respectively. As a result, we can conclude that this gene is implicated generally in horizontal gene transfer. These results from two separate methods of analysis makes it highly likely that this reductase originated in another organism.

 

The mercury(II) reductase (or merA) is an oxidoreductase enzyme which catalyzes the reduction of mercury. This gene is a vital component in the detoxication of mercury in organisms, and has been implicated in horizontal gene transfer in other organisms. In particular, in a study of merA it was found that homology in merA sequences did not match established 16S rRNA phylogenies. Since genes which are spread through horizontal gene transfer generally do so, the fact that it has been implicated in the general literature increases the likelihood of this gene coming from another organism.

 

Catalyzed reaction

 

 

 

 

 

1. Lal. D, Lal R. Evolution of mercuric reductase (merA) gene: a case of horizontal gene transfer (2010) Microbiology, 79(4)

 

2. Schiering N, Kabsch W, Moore M, Distefano M, Walsh C, Pai E, Structure of the detoxification catalyst mercuric ion reductase from Bacillus sp. Strain RC607 (1991) Nature 352

© 2023 by UNIVERSITY OF LIFE. Proudly created with Wix.com

  • Facebook Round
  • Twitter Round
  • YouTube Round
  • Google Round
  • LinkedIn Round
bottom of page