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Milner, David S., Attah, Victoria, Cook, Emily, Maguire, Finlay, Savory, Fiona R., Morrison, Mark, Müller, Carolin A., Foster, Peter G., Talbot, Nicholas J. 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6434-7757, Leonard, Guy and Richards, Thomas A.
(2019)
Environment-dependent fitness gains can be driven by horizontal gene transfer of transporter-encoding genes.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), 116 (12).
pp. 5613-5622.
ISSN 0027-8424
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Abstract
Many microbes acquire metabolites in a “feeding” process where complex polymers are broken down in the environment to their subunits. The subsequent uptake of soluble metabolites by a cell, sometimes called osmotrophy, is facilitated by transporter proteins. As such, the diversification of osmotrophic microorganisms is closely tied to the diversification of transporter functions. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has been suggested to produce genetic variation that can lead to adaptation, allowing lineages to acquire traits and expand niche ranges. Transporter genes often encode single-gene phenotypes and tend to have low protein–protein interaction complexity and, as such, are potential candidates for HGT. Here we test the idea that HGT has underpinned the expansion of metabolic potential and substrate utilization via transfer of transporter-encoding genes. Using phylogenomics, we identify seven cases of transporter-gene HGT between fungal phyla, and investigate compatibility, localization, function, and fitness consequences when these genes are expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using this approach, we demonstrate that the transporters identified can alter how fungi utilize a range of metabolites, including peptides, polyols, and sugars. We then show, for one model gene, that transporter gene acquisition by HGT can significantly alter the fitness landscape of S. cerevisiae. We therefore provide evidence that transporter HGT occurs between fungi, alters how fungi can acquire metabolites, and can drive gain in fitness. We propose a “transporter-gene acquisition ratchet,” where transporter repertoires are continually augmented by duplication, HGT, and differential loss, collectively acting to overwrite, fine-tune, and diversify the complement of transporters present in a genome.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Science > The Sainsbury Laboratory |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Norwich Institute for Healthy Aging |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2021 01:01 |
| Last Modified: | 21 Apr 2023 00:58 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/79119 |
| DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.1815994116 |
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