Abstract
Vibrionaceae are regarded as important marine chitin degraders, and attachment to chitin regulates important biological functions; yet, the degree of chitin pathway conservation in Vibrionaceae is unknown. Here, a core chitin degradation pathway is proposed based on comparison of 19 Vibrio and Photobacterium genomes with a detailed metabolic map assembled for V. cholerae from published biochemical, genomic, and transcriptomic results. Further, to assess whether chitin degradation is a conserved property of Vibrionaceae, a set of 54 strains from 32 taxa were tested for the ability to grow on various forms of chitin. All strains grew on N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), the monomer of chitin. The majority of isolates grew on alpha (crab shell) and beta (squid pen) chitin and contained chitinase A (chiA) genes. chiA sequencing and phylogenetic analysis suggest that this gene is a good indicator of chitin metabolism but appears subject to horizontal gene transfer and duplication. Overall, chitin metabolism appears to be a core function of Vibrionaceae, but individual pathway components exhibit dynamic evolutionary histories.
Publication types
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Comparative Study
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
MeSH terms
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Acetylglucosamine / metabolism
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Bacterial Proteins / genetics
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Chitin / metabolism*
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Chitinases / genetics
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Conserved Sequence
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DNA, Bacterial / chemistry
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DNA, Bacterial / genetics
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Metabolic Networks and Pathways / genetics*
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Molecular Sequence Data
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Phylogeny
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Sequence Analysis, DNA
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Vibrionaceae / genetics*
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Vibrionaceae / growth & development
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Vibrionaceae / metabolism*
Substances
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Bacterial Proteins
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DNA, Bacterial
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Chitin
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Chitinases
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Acetylglucosamine
Associated data
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GENBANK/EU177043
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GENBANK/EU177044
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GENBANK/EU177045
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GENBANK/EU177046
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GENBANK/EU177047
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GENBANK/EU177048
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GENBANK/EU177049
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GENBANK/EU177050
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GENBANK/EU177051
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GENBANK/EU177052
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GENBANK/EU177053
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GENBANK/EU177054
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GENBANK/EU177055
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GENBANK/EU177056
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GENBANK/EU177057
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GENBANK/EU177058
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GENBANK/EU177059
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GENBANK/EU177060
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GENBANK/EU177061
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GENBANK/EU177062
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GENBANK/EU177063
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GENBANK/EU177064
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GENBANK/EU177065
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GENBANK/EU177066
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GENBANK/EU177067
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GENBANK/EU177068
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GENBANK/EU177069
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GENBANK/EU177070
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GENBANK/EU177071
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GENBANK/EU177072
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GENBANK/EU177073
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GENBANK/EU177074
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GENBANK/EU177075
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GENBANK/EU177076
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GENBANK/EU177077
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GENBANK/EU177094