Phylogenomic Analysis of Odyssella thessalonicensis and Its Relation to Mitochondria
Author Information
Author(s): Georgiades Kalliopi, Madoui Mohammed-Amine, Le Phuong, Robert Catherine, Raoult Didier
Primary Institution: Unité de Recherche en Maladies Infectieuses Tropicales Emergentes (URMITE), CNRS-IRD UMR 6236, Faculté de la Médecine, Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France
Hypothesis
The study aims to clarify the evolutionary relationship between Odyssella thessalonicensis and the origins of mitochondria.
Conclusion
The study confirms that mitochondria emerged deeply in the Rickettsiales clade and are closely related to Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique.
Supporting Evidence
- The phylogenomic analysis placed Odyssella thessalonicensis between Rickettsiales and other Alphaproteobacteria.
- Nine mitochondrion-encoded proteins were selected for phylogenetic analysis.
- The study used Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood methods for phylogenetic tree construction.
- Results indicated that Candidatus Pelagibacter ubique is closely related to the mitochondrion ancestor.
Takeaway
Scientists studied a tiny bacterium to understand how mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells, evolved. They found that this bacterium is closely related to the ancestors of mitochondria.
Methodology
The study used whole genome sequencing and phylogenomic analyses of 65 conserved proteins to determine the evolutionary relationships.
Limitations
The unavailability of Holosporaceae genomes may raise questions on the accuracy of the topology of O. thessalonicensis.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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