EVOLUTION OF METABOLISM: MICROBIAL GENOMES

通过完全测序获得丰富的基因组信息 微生物基因组提供了一个起点，新的见解， 生物体的多层次组织及其进化 *。 我们采取 下一步，远离通过表达的功能来注释基因， 蛋白质，朝着更全面的描述代谢 蛋白质作为酶加工底物的途径[64]。 通过 将病原微生物与自由生物体进行比较， 致病性可能与细胞中缺失的功能有关， 自养生物 H. influencae和E.大肠杆菌是一个众所周知的例子 这样的关系。 类似的结果可以报告自由生活 B。枯草杆菌和致病性链球菌。 这项研究有助于药物 通过干扰宿主相互作用的设计和疾病治疗 病原体的因素和途径。 我们还致力于发展 方法，以构建生物体之间的同源性的水平上， 代谢途径 通过图形理论方法结合 序列信息，不同生物体的途径与 对方. 应用该方法已取得初步成果 与电子转移有关的途径。 这表明嵌合体 古细菌的起源，因此这种途径的早期进化[65]。 在序列水平上与基因簇组织有着更密切的关系 对细菌的影响比对桉树的影响要大。 这些成就 打开了重建最小基因集的大门， 以及这三种生物的共同祖先的代谢途径 古细菌和真核生物。

The abundance of genomic information by completely sequenced microbial genomes provides a starting point for new insights in the multi-level organization of organisms and their evolution*. We take the next step, away from annotating genes by functions of expressed proteins, towards a more comprehensive description of metabolic pathways of proteins acting as enzymes processing substrates [64]. By comparing pathogenic microbes with free living organisms the pathogenicity can be related to functions which are missing in autotrophs. H. influencae and E. coli are a well known example for such relationships. Similar results can be reported for free living B. subtilis and pathogenic Streptococci. This study aids in drug design and disease treatment by interfering with host-interaction factors and pathways of pathogens. We also pursue the development of methods to construct phylogenies between organisms on the level of metabolic pathways. By a graph-theoretical approach combined with sequence information, pathways of different organisms are related to each other. First results have been obtained by applying this method on pathways related to electron transfer. This suggests the chimeric origin of archaea and thus an early evolution of such pathways [65]. On sequence level and gene cluster organization a closer relationship to bacteria than to eucarya can be reported. These accomplishments open the door for reconstructing the minimal set of genes, regulatory and metabolic pathways of the universal ancestor of all three kingdoms, archaea, bacteria and eucarya.