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Phylogeny of the alpha and beta subunits of the dissimilatory adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (APS) reductase from sulfate-reducing prokaryotes – origin and evolution of the dissimilatory sulfate-reduction pathway

Jan Kuever

Max-Planck-Institute for Marine Microbiology, Celsiusstrasse 1, D-28359 Bremen, Germany

Correspondence
Jan Kuever
kuever{at}mpa-bremen.de

Newly developed PCR assays were used to PCR-amplify and sequence fragments of the dissimilatory adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate (APS) reductase genes (aprBA) comprising nearly the entire gene locus (2·2–2·4 kb, equal to 92–94 % of the protein coding sequence) from 75 sulfate-reducing prokaryotes (SRP) of a taxonomically wide range. Comparative phylogenetic analysis included all determined and publicly available AprBA sequences from SRP and selected homologous sequences of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria (SOB). The almost identical AprB and AprA tree topologies indicated a shared evolutionary path for the aprBA among the investigated SRP by vertical inheritance and concomitant lateral gene transfer (LGT). The topological comparison of AprB/A- and 16S rRNA gene-based phylogenetic trees revealed novel LGT events across the SRP divisions. Compositional gene analysis confirmed Thermacetogenium phaeum to be the first validated strain affected by a recent lateral transfer of aprBA as a putative effect of long-term co-cultivation with a Thermodesulfovibrio species. Interestingly, the Apr proteins of SRP and SOB diverged into two phylogenetic lineages, with the SRP affiliated with the green sulfur bacteria, e.g. Chlorobaculum tepidum, while the Allochromatium vinosum-related sequences formed a distinct group. Analysis of genome data indicated that this phylogenetic separation is also reflected in the differing presence of the putative proteins functionally associated with Apr, QmoABC complex (quinone-interacting membrane-bound oxidoreductase) and AprM (transmembrane protein). Scenarios for the origin and evolution of the dissimilatory APS reductase are discussed within the context of the dissimilatory sulfite reductase (DsrAB) phylogeny, the appearance of QmoABC and AprM in the SRP and SOB genomes, and the geochemical setting of Archean Earth.

Present address: Bremen Institute for Materials Testing, Paul-Feller-Strasse 1, D-28199 Bremen, Germany.

The GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers for the nucleotide sequence data reported in this study are EF442876–EF442976 (apr) and EF442977–EF442994 (16S rRNA).

Supplementary data are available with the online version of this paper.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				B. Meyer and J. Kuever Molecular Analysis of the Diversity of Sulfate-Reducing and Sulfur-Oxidizing Prokaryotes in the Environment, Using aprA as Functional Marker Gene Appl. Envir. Microbiol., December 1, 2007; 73(23): 7664 - 7679. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Meyer and J. Kuever Molecular analysis of the distribution and phylogeny of dissimilatory adenosine-5'-phosphosulfate reductase-encoding genes (aprBA) among sulfur-oxidizing prokaryotes Microbiology, October 1, 2007; 153(10): 3478 - 3498. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]