Search results for "Black Queen Hypothesis"
showing 3 items of 3 documents
Evolution of small prokaryotic genomes
2015
As revealed by genome sequencing, the biology of prokaryotes with reduced genomes is strikingly diverse. These include free-living prokaryotes with ∼800 genes as well as endosymbiotic bacteria with as few as ∼140 genes. Comparative genomics is revealing the evolutionary mechanisms that led to these small genomes. In the case of free-living prokaryotes, natural selection directly favored genome reduction, while in the case of endosymbiotic prokaryotes neutral processes played a more prominent role. However, new experimental data suggest that selective processes may be at operation as well for endosymbiotic prokaryotes at least during the first stages of genome reduction. Endosymbiotic prokar…
Small genomes and the difficulty to define minimal translation and metabolic machineries
2015
The notion of minimal life has sparked the interest of scientists in different fields, ranging from the origin-of-life research to biotechnology-oriented synthetic biology. Whether the interest is focused on the emergence of protocells out of prebiotic systems or the design of a cell chassis ready to incorporate new devices and functions, proposing minimal combinations of genes for life is not a trivial task. Using comparative genomics and biochemistry of endosymbionts (i.e., intracellular mutualistic symbionts) and intracellular parasites, a decade ago we proposed the core of a minimal gene set for a simple heterotrophic cell adapted to a chemically complex environment. In this work, we di…
Le partage des tâches favorise la coexistence dans les communautés bactériennes dégradant l’atrazine
2019
National audience; Les communautés microbiennes exercent un rôle primordial dans la dégradation des xénobiotiques1, et en particulier des pesticides. Dans le cas de l’herbicide atrazine, plusieurs études ont démontré que sa dégradation faisait intervenir un consortium, plutôt qu’une espèce isolée2,3,4. Cependant, on ne sait pas comment la mise en place de ces consortiums dégradants se fait dans la nature. La théorie de la Reine Noire formalise les conditions nécessaires pour le mise en place de dépendance entre espèces5 : un membre de la communauté, appelé « helper », fournit un bien commun à la communauté par la dégradation d’un composé complexe, alors que les autres, appelés « beneficiari…