1. Comparative genome analysis of Leuconostoc spp.
Sharon Shiny Dhanashekaran a
, Sol Ji Noha
, Jin Seok Moon a
, So-Yeon Shin a
and Nam Soo Han a
Brain Korea 21 Center for Bio-Resource Development, Division of Animal, Horticultural, and Food Sciences
Chungbuk National University, Cheongju, 361-763, Republic of Korea
Abstract
Leuconostoc spp. are ubiquitous microorganisms most commonly found on fresh plants. They
play an important role in food fermentation processes such as that of kimchi, sauerkraut, and
kefir. Despite their great relevance, the comparative study of genome sequences of each strain
has not been reported yet. Capitalizing on the emerging advances in Leuconostoc genome
sequence analysis, this study aimed on contributing to bioinformatic analyses of this important
species. The genome sequences of 9 strains were downloaded from the National Center for
Biotechnology Information (NCBI)(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/) as representatives of each
used for comparative analysis. MUMmer-based whole-genome alignment
(http://mummer.sourceforge.net/) was carried out by using the sequence of Leuconostoc spp.
Results have shown that, these genomes have 1.6 to 2.1 Mb sizes and the G+C content ranged
from 36% to 38%. The number of predicted protein-coding sequences (CDS) in genomes
ranges from 1,644 to 2,129 and such variation exhibits a substantial gene loss and gain in their
evolution. A phylogenetic tree was constructed from analysis of taxonomic relationship based
on 16S rRNA genes. Furthermore, their physiological characteristics such as adaptation to
plant-based environment were explained based on their genomic features. Hierarchical
clustering was performed based on ANI values identified. This study provides a platform for
understanding individual species as well as further analysis of new Leuconostoc genomes.
Keywords: Lactic acid bacteria, Leuconostoc lactis EFEL005, Probiotics, L. lactis-specific
PCR