Reassessment of the Lineage Fusion Hypothesis for Double Membrane Bacteria
Author Information
Author(s): Swithers Kristen S., Fournier Gregory P., Green Anna G., Gogarten J. Peter, Lapierre Pascal
Primary Institution: University of Connecticut
Hypothesis
Is the origin of double membrane bacteria due to an ancient endosymbiosis between Actinobacteria and Clostridia?
Conclusion
The study concludes that the evidence for an ancient symbiosis is lost when double membrane bacteria are analyzed in smaller subgroups.
Supporting Evidence
- The signal supporting the hypothesis of an ancient endosymbiosis is lost when DM subgroups are analyzed.
- Tree patterns were more highly supported than the ring patterns proposed by Lake.
- The reticulate signal is likely due to multiple horizontal gene transfer events.
Takeaway
Scientists looked at how double membrane bacteria might have evolved and found that the idea of them coming from a fusion of two types of bacteria might not be true.
Methodology
The study used parsimony analysis of protein family presence-absence data across different groups of prokaryotes.
Potential Biases
Potential biases due to horizontal gene transfer and the grouping of diverse bacteria.
Limitations
The analysis may be impacted by the definition of double membrane and the diversity of the groups analyzed.
Statistical Information
P-Value
0.0035 or smaller
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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