The constancy of gene conservation across divergent bacterial orders

BMC Research Notes

Table 1 Essential E. coli genes with high ROL values are also essential in Acinetobacter.

K12 gene	Gene function	ROL γ-β	ROL α	ROL B-M	Essential
asd	ASA dehydrogenase	3.07	n.a.	n.a.	DB
can	carbonic anhydrase	4.07	11.67	n.a.	-
degS	serine endoprotease	8.63	9.54	7.77	NON
dnaC	DNA biosynthesis protein	62.30	n.a.	94.06	-
fabA	HD thioester dehydrase	2.78	2.42	n.a.	-
fabB	3-oxoacyl-[acp] synthase	3.55	2.75	n.a.	DB
fbaA	FBP aldolase	3.21	n.a.	n.a.	-
fldA	flavodoxin 1	4.73	22.92	16.86	-
ftsE	transporter subunit	3.05	2.48	8.79	-
ftsK	chromosome partitioning	7.20	2.55	10.41	ESS
ftsL	cell division protein	4.59	n.a.	n.a.	-
ftsN	cell division protein	12.64	n.a.	n.a.	-
ftsX	transporter subunit	2.87	13.32	9.10	-
hemD	uroporphyrinogen synthase	2.75	n.a.	n.a.	DB
hemG	protoporphyrin oxidase	8.47	n.a.	n.a.	-
holB	DNA ROL III subunit	5.08	19.02	32.24	-
lolB	chaperone for lipoproteins	2.67	n.a.	n.a.	ESS
lolE	lipoprotein transporter	7.92	5.89	55.12	-
mreD	cell wall structural complex	3.53	n.a.	n.a.	-
mukB	chromosome partitioning	13.42	n.a.	94.78	-
mukE	chromosome partitioning	7.41	n.a.	n.a.	-
mukF	chromosome partitioning	7.16	n.a.	n.a.	-
nrdA	RDP reductase subunit	4.91	n.a.	n.a.	-
nrdB	RDP reductase subunit	3.03	5.75	n.a.	ESS
plsB	O-acyltransferase	5.09	n.a.	n.a.	ESS
plsC	acyltransferase	4.06	5.79	32.81	-
psd	decarboxylase	3.28	36.74	13.10	ESS
pssA	phosphatidylserine synthase	7.12	n.a.	n.a.	-
rlpB	minor lipoprotein	8.13	n.a.	n.a.	-
secM	regulator of secA	10.80	n.a.	n.a.	-
yejM	hydrolase, inner membrane	6.76	n.a.	n.a.	-
yrbK	conserved protein	8.94	n.a.	n.a.	-
yrfF	inner membrane protein	7.93	n.a.	n.a.	-
zipA	cell division protein	3.33	n.a.	n.a.	-

Only those E. coli K12 genes with high ROL values in γ-β-proteobacteria, α-proteobacteria, and Bacilli-Mollicutes (ROL values greater than 2.4 in all three groups (Fig. 1)) are shown here. Of these 34 genes, nine have an orthologue in Acinetobacter, and eight of these have an essential function in Acinetobacter. Many of the genes lost at high rates from γ-β-proteobacteria have orthologues in fewer than 10% of the α-proteobacteria or Bacilli-Mollicutes; these are indicated by n.a. ESS, genes for which no deletion mutants were isolated in Acinetobacter; DB, genes in which only "double band" mutants containing chromosomal duplications were isolated in Acinetobacter (and which are thus likely to be essential); NON, genes for which deletion mutants were isolated in Acinetobacter, and which are thus considered to be non-essential; [9]. '-', genes without an orthologue in Acinetobacter.

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