title: Natural replacement of vertically inherited lux-rib genes of Photobacterium aquimaris by horizontally acquired homologues.
abstract: We report here the first instance of a complete replacement of vertically inherited luminescence genes by horizontally acquired homologues. Different strains of Photobacterium aquimaris contain homologues of the lux-rib genes that have a different evolutionary history. Strain BS1 from the Black Sea contains a vertically inherited lux-rib operon, which presumably arose in the ancestor of this species, whereas the type strain NBRC 104633(T) , from Sagami Bay, lacks the vertically inherited lux-rib operon and instead carries a complete and functional lux-rib operon acquired horizontally from a bacterium related to Photobacterium mandapamensis. The results indicate that the horizontal acquisition of the lux genes expanded the pan-genome of P. aquimaris, but it did not influence the phylogenetic divergence of this species.
authors.affiliation: Interdisciplinary Research Organization Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, 5200 Kihara, Kiyotake, Miyazaki 889-1692, Japan Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Henryk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Urbanczyk
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: Yuki
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Paul V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Dunlap