Research article

Analysis of and function predictions for previously conserved hypothetical or putative proteins in Blochmannia floridanus

Peter Gaudermann^1* , Ina Vogl^1* , Evelyn Zientz² , Francisco J Silva³ , Andres Moya³ , Roy Gross² and Thomas Dandekar¹

¹  dept of bioinformatics, biocenter university of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany

²  dept of microbiology, biocenter university of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany

³  Departament de Genètica, Institut Cavanilles de Biodiversitat i Biologia Evolutiva de Universitat de València, 46071 Valencia, Spain

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Microbiology 2006, 6:1doi:10.1186/1471-2180-6-1

Published:	9 January 2006

Abstract

Background

There is an increasing interest to better understand endosymbiont capabilities in insects both from an ecological point of view and for pest control. Blochmannia floridanus provides important nutrients for its host, the ant Camponotus, while the bacterium in return is provided with a niche to proliferate. Blochmannia floridanus proteins and metabolites are difficult to study due to its endosymbiontic life style; however, its complete genome sequence became recently available.

Results

Improved sequence analysis algorithms, databanks and gene and pathway context methods allowed us to reveal new information on various enzyme and pathways from the Blochmannia floridanus genome sequence [EMBL-ID BX248583]. Furthermore, these predictions are supported and linked to experimental data for instance from structural genomics projects (e.g. Bfl341, Bfl 499) or available biochemical data on proteins from other species which we show here to be related. We were able to assign a confirmed or at least a putative molecular function for 21 from 27 previously conserved hypothetical proteins. For 48 proteins of 66 with a previous putative assignment the function was further clarified. Several of these proteins occur in many proteobacteria and are found to be conserved even in the compact genome of this endosymbiont. To extend and re-test predictions and links to experimentally verified protein functions, functional clusters and interactions were assembled. These included septum initiation and cell division (Bfl165, Bfl303, Bfl248 et al.); translation; transport; the ubiquinone (Bfl547 et al.), the inositol and nitrogen pathways.

Conclusion

Taken together, our data allow a better and more complete description of the pathway capabilities and life style of this typical endosymbiont.