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A family of glycosyl hydrolase family 45 cellulases from the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
Author(s) -
Kikuchi Taisei,
Jones John T,
Aikawa Takuya,
Kosaka Hajime,
Ogura Nobuo
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/j.febslet.2004.07.039
Subject(s) - bursaphelenchus xylophilus , xylophilus , horizontal gene transfer , cellulase , biology , nematode , gene , botany , microbiology and biotechnology , bacteria , cell wall , gene family , genome , enzyme , genetics , ecology , biochemistry
We have characterized a family of GHF45 cellulases from the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus . The absence of such genes from other nematodes and their similarity to fungal genes suggests that they may have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer (HGT) from fungi. The cell wall degrading enzymes of other plant parasitic nematodes may have been acquired by HGT from bacteria. B. xylophilus is not directly related to other plant parasites and our data therefore suggest that horizontal transfer of cell wall degrading enzymes has played a key role in evolution of plant parasitism by nematodes on more than one occasion.