Pseudomonas putida
- Research Article | Ecological and Evolutionary ScienceTransient Replication in Specialized Cells Favors Transfer of an Integrative and Conjugative Element
Bacterial evolution is driven to a large extent by horizontal gene transfer (HGT)—the processes that distribute genetic material between species rather than by vertical descent. The different elements and processes mediating HGT have been characterized in great molecular detail. In contrast, very little is known on adaptive features selecting HGT evolvability and fitness optimization. By studying the molecular behavior of an integrated...
- Commentary | Molecular Biology and PhysiologyThe Effect of Cellular Redox Status on the Evolvability of New Catabolic Pathways
Oxidation of aromatic compounds can be mutagenic due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in bacterial cells and thereby facilitate evolution of corresponding catabolic pathways. To examine the effect of the background biochemical network on the evolvability of environmental bacteria hosting a new catabolic pathway, Akkaya and colleagues (mBio 9:e01512-18, 2018, https://doi...
- Editor's Pick Research ArticleThe Metabolic Redox Regime of Pseudomonas putida Tunes Its Evolvability toward Novel Xenobiotic Substrates
Some environmental bacteria evolve with new capacities for the aerobic biodegradation of chemical pollutants by adapting preexisting redox reactions to novel compounds. The process typically starts by cooption of enzymes from an available route to act on the chemical structure of the substrate-to-be. The critical bottleneck is generally the first biochemical step, and most of the selective pressure operates on reshaping the initial...