PNNL

Abstract

Comparative bacterial genomic studies commonly predict a set of genes indicative of common ancestry. Experimental validation of the existence of this core genome requires extensive measurement and is not typically undertaken. Enabled by an extensive proteome database development over a six year period, we experimentally verified the expression of proteins predicted from genomic ortholog comparisons among 17 environmental and pathogenic bacteria. More exclusive relationships were observed among the expressed protein content of phenotypically related bacteria, which is indicative of the specific lifestyles associated with these organisms. While genomic studies establish relative orthologous relationships among a set of bacteria and propose a set of ancestral genes, our proteomics study establishes expressed lifestyle differences among conserved genes and proposes a set of expressed ancestral traits.