title: Determination of the core of a minimal bacterial gene set.
abstract: The availability of a large number of complete genome sequences raises the question of how many genes are essential for cellular life. Trying to reconstruct the core of the protein-coding gene set for a hypothetical minimal bacterial cell, we have performed a computational comparative analysis of eight bacterial genomes. Six of the analyzed genomes are very small due to a dramatic genome size reduction process, while the other two, corresponding to free-living relatives, are larger. The available data from several systematic experimental approaches to define all the essential genes in some completely sequenced bacterial genomes were also considered, and a reconstruction of a minimal metabolic machinery necessary to sustain life was carried out. The proposed minimal genome contains 206 protein-coding genes with all the genetic information necessary for self-maintenance and reproduction in the presence of a full complement of essential nutrients and in the absence of environmental stress. The main features of such a minimal gene set, as well as the metabolic functions that must be present in the hypothetical minimal cell, are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva, Universitat de València, Apartat Oficial 2085, 46071 València, Spain. rosario.gil@uv.es
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gil
authors.forename: Francisco J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Juli
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Peretó
authors.forename: Andrés
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Moya
mesh_terms: D001419:Bacteria / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019295:Computational Biology; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins