AUTHOR=Tamames Javier , Sánchez Pablo D. , Nikel Pablo I. , Pedrós-Alió Carlos TITLE=Quantifying the Relative Importance of Phylogeny and Environmental Preferences As Drivers of Gene Content in Prokaryotic Microorganisms JOURNAL=Frontiers in Microbiology VOLUME=7 YEAR=2016 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/microbiology/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.00433 DOI=10.3389/fmicb.2016.00433 ISSN=1664-302X ABSTRACT=
Two complementary forces shape microbial genomes: vertical inheritance of genes by phylogenetic descent, and acquisition of new genes related to adaptation to particular habitats and lifestyles. Quantification of the relative importance of each driving force proved difficult. We determined the contribution of each factor, and identified particular genes or biochemical/cellular processes linked to environmental preferences (i.e., propensity of a taxon to live in particular habitats). Three types of data were confronted: (i) complete genomes, which provide gene content of different taxa; (ii) phylogenetic information,