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Promiscuous Anaerobes.

Authors :
Grochowski, Laura L.
White, Robert H.
Source :
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Mar2008, Vol. 1125, p190-214. 25p. 16 Diagrams.
Publication Year :
2008

Abstract

The development of an oxygenated atmosphere on earth resulted in the polarization of life into two major groups, those that could live in the presence of oxygen and those that could not—the aerobes and the anaerobes. The evolution of aerobes from the earliest anaerobic prokaryotes resulted in a variety of metabolic adaptations. Many of these adaptations center on the need to sustain oxygen-sensitive reactions and cofactors to function in the new oxygen-containing atmosphere. Still other metabolic pathways that were not sensitive to oxygen also diverged. This is likely due to the physical separation of the organisms, based on their ability to live in the presence of oxygen, which allowed for the independent evolution of the pathways. Through the study of metabolic pathways in anaerobes and comparison to the more established pathways from aerobes, insight into metabolic evolution can be gained. This, in turn, can allow for extra- polation to those metabolic pathways occurring in the ast niversal ommon ncestor (LUCA). Some of the unique and uncanonical metabolic pathways that have been identified in the archaea with emphasis on the biochemistry of an obligate anaerobic methanogen, Methanocaldococcus jannaschii are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
00778923
Volume :
1125
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
31424892
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1419.001