特性
α-變形菌包含多種細菌,其中包含光自營細菌、植物共生菌(如根瘤菌)、內共生細菌(如Wolbachia),和胞內寄生細菌(如立克次體)。
此外,本綱還包含已滅絕的Proto-mitochondrion。真核生物的祖先攝入了此種細菌,進行內共生作用,成為後來的線粒體。還有一種生物技術上很喜歡使用的農桿菌(Rhizobium radiobacter)也是本綱成員,科學家常常使用本物種來將外來DNA導入植物基因體中。另外,一些光自營生物像是遍在遠洋桿菌(Pelagibacter ubique)也屬於此綱,α-變形菌的微生物可能占了海洋微生物的10%左右。
演化及基因體
關於本綱所屬的目,有人反對現行的分類法,尤其是Pelagibacterales的地位,但大體上大家還是普遍接受。細菌的分類學一直是分類學家相當頭痛的問題,因為細菌的基因會彼此互相交流,且基因歧異度相當高(像是遍在遠洋桿菌由於他的寄生行為,就會精簡化他的基因體)。在某些目中,其成員的GC含量變異也大的誇張。舉個例子,像是Pelagibacterales、立克次體目(Rickettsiales)和Holosporales三者的基因體都含有高AT含量,有人認為那其實是趨同演化所導致的假象,而反對方也有他們自己的論述。後來有人發現用以判斷分類依據的rRNA中,GC含量好像不太會受基因體變異影響。因此,rRNA中GC含量較高的Holosporales就被和低GC含量的Pelagibacterales和立克次體目分開了。
α-變形菌綱下有三個亞綱Magnetococcidae、立克次體亞綱(Rickettsidae)和柄桿菌亞綱(Caulobacteridae)。基群為Magnetococcidae,此類別包含了許多趨磁細菌(由於趨磁細菌為多系群,因此只有部分包含於α-變形菌之下)立克次體亞綱則由細胞內寄生的立克次體目(Rickettsiales),以及可以在胞外單獨生存的Pelagibacterales。柄桿菌亞綱則由Holosporales、紅螺旋菌目(Rhodospirillales)、鞘脂單胞菌目(Sphingomonadales)、紅細菌目(Rhodobacterales)、柄桿菌目(Caulobacterales)、Kiloniellales、Kordiimonadales、短小盒菌目(Parvularculales),和Sneathiellales。
參考文獻
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