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Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 4120-4129, Vol. 75, No. 12
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02898-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

In Silico Prediction of Horizontal Gene Transfer Events in Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus Reveals Protocooperation in Yogurt Manufacturing{triangledown} ,{dagger}

Mengjin Liu,1,2* Roland J. Siezen,2,3,4 and Arjen Nauta1

FrieslandCampina Research, Deventer, The Netherlands,1 Centre for Molecular and Biomolecular Informatics, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands,2 NIZO food research, Ede, The Netherlands,3 TI Food and Nutrition, Wageningen, The Netherlands4

Received 19 December 2008/ Accepted 16 April 2009

Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, used in yogurt starter cultures, are well known for their stability and protocooperation during their coexistence in milk. In this study, we show that a close interaction between the two species also takes place at the genetic level. We performed an in silico analysis, combining gene composition and gene transfer mechanism-associated features, and predicted horizontally transferred genes in both L. bulgaricus and S. thermophilus. Putative horizontal gene transfer (HGT) events that have occurred between the two bacterial species include the transfer of exopolysaccharide (EPS) biosynthesis genes, transferred from S. thermophilus to L. bulgaricus, and the gene cluster cbs-cblB(cglB)-cysE for the metabolism of sulfur-containing amino acids, transferred from L. bulgaricus or Lactobacillus helveticus to S. thermophilus. The HGT event for the cbs-cblB(cglB)-cysE gene cluster was analyzed in detail, with respect to both evolutionary and functional aspects. It can be concluded that during the coexistence of both yogurt starter species in a milk environment, agonistic coevolution at the genetic level has probably been involved in the optimization of their combined growth and interactions.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: FrieslandCampina Research, P.O. Box 87, 7400AB Deventer, The Netherlands. Phone: 31 (0)570 690317. Fax: 31 (0)570 695918. E-mail: Mengjin.Liu{at}frieslandcampina.com

{triangledown} Published ahead of print on 24 April 2009.

{dagger} Supplemental material for this article may be found at http://aem.asm.org/.

Applied and Environmental Microbiology, June 2009, p. 4120-4129, Vol. 75, No. 12
0099-2240/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/AEM.02898-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.





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