Convergent evolution of zoonotic <i>Brucella</i> species toward the selective use of the pentose phosphate pathway
Arnaud Machelart, Kévin Willemart, Amaia Zúñiga-Ripa, Thibault Godard, Hubert Plovier, Christoph Wittmann, Ignacio Moriyón, Xavier De Bolle, Emile Van Schaftingen, Jean‐Jacques Letesson, Thibault Barbier
Abstract
Significance Brucella species are capable of infecting a range of mammals, including humans, with relative host specificity. We hypothesized that metabolism is instrumental in host adaptation and compared the central metabolism of seven species. We demonstrate the existence of two distinct groups, including one overlapping with the classical zoonotic brucellae of domestic livestock that exclusively use the pentose phosphate pathway. Species from the second group rely mostly on the Entner–Doudoroff pathway instead. This metabolic dichotomy arose after the acquisition of two newly identified EDP-inactivating mutations. This selected trait seems to be linked to bacterial pathogenicity in mice. The data fit the hypothesis that Brucella has undergone a stepwise metabolic evolution in domestic hosts that might also apply to other pathogens.