Three steps to the (evolutionary) success of longhorned beetles (IMAGE)
Caption
Three steps to the (evolutionary) success of longhorned beetles: An ancestor of today's longhorned beetles acquired an enzyme of the GH5_2 enzyme family via horizontal gene transfer. Donors were bacteria from the bacterial phylum Bacteroidetes. The original enzyme was a cellulase, but also showed some activity to degrade two other components of the cell wall, xylan and glucomannan (1st step). Ancient gene duplications increased the diversity of substrates being degraded. The resulting GH5_2 enzymes could now cleave xyloglucan, mannans, and xylan in addition to cellulose (2nd step). Further gene duplications occurred more recently. The enzymes became more specific and one of the GH5_2 enzymes even performed transglycosylation, the transfer and attachment of a sugar residue instead of cleavage (3rd step).
Credit
Na Ra Shin, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
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License
CC BY-SA