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Determination of the Core of a Minimal Bacterial Gene Set

2004; American Society for Microbiology; Volume: 68; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1128/mmbr.68.3.518-537.2004

1098-5557

Rosario Gil, Francisco J. Silva, Juli Peretó, Andrés Moyá,

Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology

SUMMARY The availability of a large number of complete genome sequences raises the question of how many genes are essential for cellular life. Trying to reconstruct the core of the protein-coding gene set for a hypothetical minimal bacterial cell, we have performed a computational comparative analysis of eight bacterial genomes. Six of the analyzed genomes are very small due to a dramatic genome size reduction process, while the other two, corresponding to free-living relatives, are larger. The available data from several systematic experimental approaches to define all the essential genes in some completely sequenced bacterial genomes were also considered, and a reconstruction of a minimal metabolic machinery necessary to sustain life was carried out. The proposed minimal genome contains 206 protein-coding genes with all the genetic information necessary for self-maintenance and reproduction in the presence of a full complement of essential nutrients and in the absence of environmental stress. The main features of such a minimal gene set, as well as the metabolic functions that must be present in the hypothetical minimal cell, are discussed.