Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>

Comparative genomic analyses have provided evidence that new genetic functions can emerge out of random nucleotide sequences. Here, we apply a direct experimental approach to study the effects of plasmids harboring random sequence inserts under the control of an inducible promoter. Based on data fro...

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Main Authors: Devika Bhave, Diethard Tautz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-12-01
Series:Genes
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/53
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author Devika Bhave
Diethard Tautz
author_facet Devika Bhave
Diethard Tautz
author_sort Devika Bhave
collection DOAJ
description Comparative genomic analyses have provided evidence that new genetic functions can emerge out of random nucleotide sequences. Here, we apply a direct experimental approach to study the effects of plasmids harboring random sequence inserts under the control of an inducible promoter. Based on data from previously described experiments dealing with the growth of clones within whole libraries, we extracted specific clones that had shown either negative, neutral or positive effects on relative cell growth. We analyzed these individually with respect to growth characteristics and the impact on the transcriptome. We find that candidate clones for negative peptides lead to growth arrest by eliciting a general stress response. Overexpression of positive clones, on the other hand, does not change the exponential growth rates of hosts, and they show a growth advantage over a neutral clone when tested in direct competition experiments. Transcriptomic changes in positive clones are relatively moderate and specific to each clone. We conclude from our experiments that random sequence peptides are indeed a suitable source for the de novo evolution of genetic functions.
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spelling doaj.art-8775119192ef4e1dbbf7f07ca71762f92023-11-23T13:51:32ZengMDPI AGGenes2073-44252021-12-011315310.3390/genes13010053Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>Devika Bhave0Diethard Tautz1Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Str. 2, 24306 Plön, GermanyMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, August-Thienemann-Str. 2, 24306 Plön, GermanyComparative genomic analyses have provided evidence that new genetic functions can emerge out of random nucleotide sequences. Here, we apply a direct experimental approach to study the effects of plasmids harboring random sequence inserts under the control of an inducible promoter. Based on data from previously described experiments dealing with the growth of clones within whole libraries, we extracted specific clones that had shown either negative, neutral or positive effects on relative cell growth. We analyzed these individually with respect to growth characteristics and the impact on the transcriptome. We find that candidate clones for negative peptides lead to growth arrest by eliciting a general stress response. Overexpression of positive clones, on the other hand, does not change the exponential growth rates of hosts, and they show a growth advantage over a neutral clone when tested in direct competition experiments. Transcriptomic changes in positive clones are relatively moderate and specific to each clone. We conclude from our experiments that random sequence peptides are indeed a suitable source for the de novo evolution of genetic functions.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/53de novo gene evolutionrandom sequencesfitness<i>E. coli</i>transcriptome
spellingShingle Devika Bhave
Diethard Tautz
Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
Genes
de novo gene evolution
random sequences
fitness
<i>E. coli</i>
transcriptome
title Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
title_full Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
title_fullStr Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
title_full_unstemmed Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
title_short Effects of the Expression of Random Sequence Clones on Growth and Transcriptome Regulation in <i>Escherichia coli</i>
title_sort effects of the expression of random sequence clones on growth and transcriptome regulation in i escherichia coli i
topic de novo gene evolution
random sequences
fitness
<i>E. coli</i>
transcriptome
url https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/13/1/53
work_keys_str_mv AT devikabhave effectsoftheexpressionofrandomsequenceclonesongrowthandtranscriptomeregulationiniescherichiacolii
AT diethardtautz effectsoftheexpressionofrandomsequenceclonesongrowthandtranscriptomeregulationiniescherichiacolii