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Molecular Signature of Hypersaline Adaptation: Insights From Genome and Proteome Composition Of Halophilic Prokaryotes

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Title Molecular Signature of Hypersaline Adaptation: Insights From
Genome and Proteome Composition Of Halophilic Prokaryotes
 
Creator Paul, Sandip
Bag, Sumit K
Das, Sabyasachi
Harvill, Eric T
Dutta, Chitra
 
Subject Structural Biology & Bioinformatics
 
Description Background: Halophilic prokaryotes are adapted to thrive in extreme conditions of salinity.
Identification and analysis of distinct macromolecular characteristics of halophiles provide insight
into the factors responsible for their adaptation to high-salt environments. The current report
presents an extensive and systematic comparative analysis of genome and proteome composition
of halophilic and non-halophilic microorganisms, with a view to identify such macromolecular
signatures of haloadaptation.
Results: Comparative analysis of the genomes and proteomes of halophiles and non-halophiles
reveals some common trends in halophiles that transcend the boundary of phylogenetic
relationship and the genomic GC-content of the species. At the protein level, halophilic species are
characterized by low hydrophobicity, over-representation of acidic residues, especially Asp, underrepresentation
of Cys, lower propensities for helix formation and higher propensities for coil
structure. At the DNA level, the dinucleotide abundance profiles of halophilic genomes bear some
common characteristics, which are quite distinct from those of non-halophiles, and hence may be
regarded as specific genomic signatures for salt-adaptation. The synonymous codon usage in
halophiles also exhibits similar patterns regardless of their long-term evolutionary history.
Conclusion: The generality of molecular signatures for environmental adaptation of extreme saltloving
organisms, demonstrated in the present study, advocates the convergent evolution of
halophilic species towards specific genome and amino acid composition, irrespective of their
varying GC-bias and widely disparate taxonomic positions. The adapted features of halophiles seem
to be related to physical principles governing DNA and protein stability, in response to the extreme
environmental conditions under which they thrive.
 
Date 2008
 
Type Article
PeerReviewed
 
Format application/pdf
 
Identifier http://www.eprints.iicb.res.in/292/1/GENOME_BIOLOGY%2C_9_(4)%2C_Article_Number_R70%2C2008[139].pdf
Paul, Sandip and Bag, Sumit K and Das, Sabyasachi and Harvill, Eric T and Dutta, Chitra (2008) Molecular Signature of Hypersaline Adaptation: Insights From Genome and Proteome Composition Of Halophilic Prokaryotes. Genome Biology, 9 (4).
 
Relation http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/gb-2008-9-4-r70
http://www.eprints.iicb.res.in/292/