Reticulate evolution is favored in influenza niche switching

Reticulate evolution is thought to accelerate the process of evolution beyond simple genetic drift and selection, helping to rapidly generate novel hybrids with combinations of adaptive traits. However, the long-standing dogma that reticulate evolutionary processes are likewise advantageous for switching ecological niches, as in microbial pathogen host switch events, has not been explicitly tested. We use data from the influenza genome sequencing project and a phylogenetic heuristic approach to show that reassortment, a reticulate evolutionary mechanism, predominates over mutational drift in transmission between different host species. Moreover, as host evolutionary distance increases, reassortment is increasingly favored. We conclude that the greater the quantitative difference between ecological niches, the greater the importance of reticulate evolutionary processes in overcoming niche barriers.

Genome Sequence of Paenibacillus sp. Strain FJAT-28004 for the Genome Sequencing Project for Genomic Taxonomy and Phylogenomics of Bacillus -Like Bacteria

Paenibacillus sp. strain FJAT-28004 is a spore forming and strictly aerobic bacterium. Here, we report the draft 7,479,858-bp genome sequence of Paenibacillus sp. FJAT-28004, which will provide useful information for genomic taxonomy and phylogenomics of the genus Paenibacillus , as well as for the functional gene mining and application of Paenibacillus sp. FJAT-28004.