Evolution of Transcriptional Regulatory Circuits in Bacteria

Related organisms typically respond to a given cue by altering the level or activity of orthologous transcription factors, which, paradoxically, often regulate expression of distinct gene sets. Although promoter rewiring of shared genes is primarily responsible for regulatory differences among related eukaryotic species, in bacteria, species-specific genes are often controlled by ancestral transcription factors, and regulatory circuit evolution has been further shaped by horizontal gene transfer. Modifications in transcription factors and in promoter structure also contribute to divergence in bacterial regulatory circuits.