Background. Lactobacillus plantarum is widely used in the manufacture of dairy products, fermented foods, and bacteriocins. The genomes of the strains contain multiple genes which may have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer. Many of these genes are important for the regulation, metabolism, and transport of various sugars; however, other genes may carry and spread virulence and antibiotic resistance determinants. In this way, monitoring these genomes is essential to the manufacture of food. In this study, we aim to provide an overview of the genomic properties of L. plantarum based on approaches of comparative genomics. Results. The finding of the current study indicates that the core genome of L. plantarum presents 1425 protein-coding genes and is mostly related to the metabolic process. The accessory genome has on average 1320 genes that encodes protein involved in processes as the formation of bacteriocins, degradation of halogen, arsenic detoxification, and nisin resistance. Most of the strains show an ancestral synteny, similar to the one described in the genomes of L. pentosus KCA1 and L. plantarum WCFS1. The lifestyle island analyses did not show a pattern of arrangement or gene content according to habitat. Conclusions. Our results suggest that there is a high rate of transfer of genetic material between the strains. We did not identify any virulence factors and antibiotic resistance genes on the genomes. Thus, the strains may be useful for the biotechnology, bioremediation, and production of bacteriocins. The potential applications are, however, restricted to particular strains.

Oxygenic photosynthesis is considered the most important evolutionary innovation in the history of Earth. It depends on two photosystems, responsible for the photolysis of water and the reduction of carbon dioxide. Oxygen and carbohydrates are released at the end of the reaction. Extraordinary, the oxygen released created the stratospheric ozone layer, and transformed the ocean chemistry, whereas the carbohydrates are the primary source of energy for complex cells. Several lines of evidence indicate the photosynthesis arose in the ancestors of cyanobacteria. It was spread over some eukaryotes by the acquisition of a freeliving cyanobacterium, which evolved into photosynthetic plastid, the chloroplast. The timing of the chloroplast emergence is still controversy.Estimated ages range from 600 to 2100 million years ago (Mya) in accordance to previous studies.The aim of this study is to clarify several aspects of the origin and diversification of photosynthetic eukaryotes. For this purpose, we utilized a data set based on 27 proteincoding genes from genomes of cyanobacteria and photosynthetic eukaryotes, more genes than other papers that also utilized plastid genes, and performed the Bayesian analysis method to estimate the divergence times of the photosynthetic eukaryotes. Results showed photosynthetic eukaryotes emerged Late Mesoproterozoic about 1342 Mya. The Early Proterozoic oceans did not have adequate conditions for eukaryotes, because chemical elements such as zinc and molybdenum were at reduced concentrations, and they are essential to the formation of eukaryotic proteins.

Glycosyltransferase 6 gene family includes ABO, Ggta1, iGb3S, and GBGT1 genes and by three putative genes restricted to mammals, GT6m6, GTm6, and GT6m7, only the latter is found in primates. GT6 genes may encode functional and nonfunctional proteins. Ggta1 and GBGT1 genes, for instance, are pseudogenes in catarrhine primates, while iGb3S gene is only inactive in human, bonobo, and chimpanzee. Even inactivated, these genes tend to be conversed in primates. As some of the GT6 genes are related to the susceptibility or resistance to parasites, we investigated (i) the selective pressure on the GT6 paralogs genes in primates; (ii) the basis of the conservation of iGb3S in human, chimpanzee, and bonobo; and (iii) the functional potential of the GBGT1 and GT6m7 in catarrhines. We observed that the purifying selection is prevalent and these genes have a low diversity, though ABO and Ggta1 genes have some sites under positive selection. GT6m7, a putative gene associated with aggressive periodontitis, may have regulatory function, but experimental studies are needed to assess its function. The evolutionary conservation of iGb3S in humans, chimpanzee, and bonobo seems to be the result of proximity to genes with important biological functions.

ABO locus presents three main alleles: A, B and O. A and B encode glycosyltransferases that catalyze the addiction of an N-GalNac and D-galactose to a precursor substance (H substance), producing A and B antigens, while the O allele does not produce a functional protein. The presence of A and B antigens have been associated to resistance against infectious agents which could use them as attachment factors increasing the virulence of some parasitic agents. As these antigens are not restrict to humans, analyses them in others species, for instance non-human primates, may be crucial to understand the relationship between pathogens and ABO phenotypes. Despite of the relevance of this issue, in the last decade few studies have addressed, mainly in New World Monkeys (NWM), natural reservoir of tropical diseases in Amazon Region. In order to understand the evolution of the ABO system in the primates, it has been obtained the partial sequence of the most important exon of ABO gene (exon 7), in platyrrhini families: Atelidae, Pithecidae and Cebidae. Then, it has been compared the sequences obtained those present in the literature, and measured the selective pressure. The present results shown that residues 266 and 268 are also crucial to distinguish A and B phenotypes in the platyrrhines, such as in catarrhines, and the 266 codon is under positive selection, although the most site codons are under action of purifying selection.