Skip Navigation


MBE Advance Access originally published online on December 5, 2006
Molecular Biology and Evolution 2007 24(2):482-497; doi:10.1093/molbev/msl184
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Material
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
24/2/482    most recent
msl184v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Alvarez-Venegas, R.
Right arrow Articles by Avramova, Z.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Alvarez-Venegas, R.
Right arrow Articles by Avramova, Z.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Research Articles

Origin of the Bacterial SET Domain Genes: Vertical or Horizontal?

Raul Alvarez-Venegas*,{dagger}, Monther Sadder*,{ddagger}, Alexander Tikhonov*,§ and Zoya Avramova*

* School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
{dagger} Department of Genetic Engineering, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados—Unidad Irapuato, Guanajuato, CP 36821, México
{ddagger} Faculty of Agriculture, University of Jordan, Amman, Jordan; and
§ Protein Array Center, Invitrogen Corporation, Branford, Connecticut

E-mail: zavramova2{at}unl.edu.

Accepted for publication November 9, 2006.

The presence of Supressor of variegation-Enhanser of zeste-Trithorax (SET) domain genes in bacteria is a current paradigm for lateral genetic exchange between eukaryotes and prokaryotes. Because a major function of SET domain proteins is the chemical modification of chromatin and bacteria do not have chromatin, there is no apparent functional requirement for the existence of bacterial SET domain genes. Consequently, their finding in only a small fraction of pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria was taken as evidence that bacteria have obtained the SET domain genes from their hosts. Furthermore, it was proposed that the products of the genes would, most likely, be involved in bacteria–host interactions. The broadened scope of sequenced bacterial genomes to include also free-living and environmental species provided a larger sample to analyze the bacterial SET domain genes. By phylogenetic analysis, examination of individual chromosomal regions for signs of insertion, and evaluating the chromosomal versus SET domain genes' GC contents, we provide evidence that SET domain genes have existed in the bacterial domain of life independently of eukaryotes. The bacterial genes have undergone an evolution of their own unconnected to the evolution of the eukaryotic SET domain genes. Initial finding of SET domain genes in predominantly pathogenic and symbiotic bacteria resulted, most probably, from a biased sample. However, a lateral transfer of SET domain genes may have occurred between some bacteria and a family of Archaea. A model for the evolution and distribution of SET domain genes in bacteria is proposed.

Key Words: horizontal gene transfer • SET domain genes • chromatin proteins in bacteria • bacterial domain of life • lateral gene transfer

Jonathan Eisen, Associate Editor


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Plant CellHome page
A. Saleh, R. Alvarez-Venegas, M. Yilmaz, O. Le, G. Hou, M. Sadder, A. Al-Abdallat, Y. Xia, G. Lu, I. Ladunga, et al.
The Highly Similar Arabidopsis Homologs of Trithorax ATX1 and ATX2 Encode Proteins with Divergent Biochemical Functions
PLANT CELL, March 1, 2008; 20(3): 568 - 579.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.