Structural Alterations in a Component of Cytochrome c Oxidase and Molecular Evolution of Pathogenic Neisseria in Humans

Three closely related bacterial species within the genus Neisseria are of importance to human disease and health. Neisseria meningitidis is a major cause of meningitis, while Neisseria gonorrhoeae is the agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhea and Neisseria lactamica is a common, harmless commensal of children. Comparative genomics have yet to yield clear insights into which factors dictate the unique host-parasite relationships exhibited by each since, as a group, they display remarkable conservation at the levels of nucleotide sequence, gene content and synteny. Here, we discovered two rare alterations in the gene encoding the CcoP protein component of cytochrome cbb3 oxidase that are phylogenetically informative. One is a single nucleotide polymorphism resulting in CcoP truncation that acts as a molecular signature for the species N. meningitidis. We go on to show that the ancestral ccoP gene arose by a unique gene duplication and fusion event and is specifically and completely distributed within species of the genus Neisseria. Surprisingly, we found that strains engineered to express either of the two CcoP forms conditionally differed in their capacity to support nitrite-dependent, microaerobic growth mediated by NirK, a nitrite reductase. Thus, we propose that changes in CcoP domain architecture and ensuing alterations in function are key traits in successive, adaptive radiations within these metapopulations. These findings provide a dramatic example of how rare changes in core metabolic proteins can be connected to significant macroevolutionary shifts. They also show how evolutionary change at the molecular level can be linked to metabolic innovation and its reversal as well as demonstrating how genotype can be used to infer alterations of the fitness landscape within a single host

The classification of some plants subjected to disturbance factors (grazing and cutting) based on ecological strategies in Turkey

WOS: 000427112700010The effect of disturbance factors such as grazing and cutting were investigated in some plants in central Black Sea Region of Turkey using Grime's CSR strategies and Ellenberg's indicator values (EIVs). Grime's CSR strategies were also determined by Pierce et al.'s (Funct Ecol 27:1002-1010, 2013) scheme because there were some inconsistencies between Grime's and Pierce et al.'s schemes. Secondary strategies in the study area found to be dominant and the dominance of secondary strategies are consistent with "intermediate disturbance hypothesis". All the EIVs were found to be significantly different in grazed vs non-ungrazed and cutted vs uncutted areas. PCA diagram showed that ungrazed and cutted areas are associated with EIVR, while grazed and uncutted plots are associated with EIVL, EIVM, EIVN and EIVT.Amasya UniversityAmasya University [FMB-BAP-14-067]; Amasya University Research FundAmasya UniversityThis study is supported by Amasya University Project number (FMB-BAP-14-067). Thank you Amasya University Research Fund for their support