Evolution of lactic acid bacteria of order Lactobacillales as depicted by analysis of glycolysis and pentose phosphate pathways

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) represent a functional group of bacteria that are fundamental in human nutrition because of their prominent role in fermented food production and their presence as commensals in the gut. LAB co-evolution and niche-adaptation have been analyzed in several phylogenomic studies due to the availability of complete genome sequences. The aim of this study was to provide novel insights into LAB evolution through the comparative analysis of the metabolic pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism. The analysis was based on 42 LAB genome sequences of representative strains belonging to Enterococcaceae, Lactobacillaceae, Leuconostocaceae and Streptococcaceae. A reference phylogenetic tree was inferred from concatenation of 42 ribosomal proteins; then 42 genes belonging to the Embden–Meyerhof–Parnas (or glycolysis; EMPP) and pentose phosphate (PPP) pathways were analyzed in terms of their distribution and organization in the genomes. Phylogenetic analyses confirmed the paraphyly of the Lactobacillaceae family, while the distribution and organization of the EMPP and PPP genes revealed the occurrence of lineage-specific trends of gene loss/gain within the two metabolic pathways examined. In addition, the investigation of the two pathways as structures resulting from different evolutionary processes provided new information concerning the genetic bases of heterofermentative/homofermentative metabolism.