Transient Duplication-Dependent Divergence and Horizontal Transfer Underlie the Evolutionary Dynamics of Bacterial Cell–Cell Signaling

Evolutionary expansion of signaling pathway families often underlies the evolution of regulatory complexity. Expansion requires the acquisition of a novel homologous pathway and the diversification of pathway specificity. Acquisition can occur either vertically, by duplication, or through horizontal transfer, while divergence of specificity is thought to occur through a promiscuous protein intermediate. The way by which these mechanisms shape the evolution of rapidly diverging signaling families is unclear. Here, we examine this question using the highly diversified Rap-Phr cell–cell signaling system, which has undergone massive expansion in the genus Bacillus. To this end, genomic sequence analysis of >300 Bacilli genomes was combined with experimental analysis of the interaction of Rap receptors with Phr autoinducers and downstream targets. Rap-Phr expansion is shown to have occurred independently in multiple Bacillus lineages, with >80 different putative rap-phr alleles evolving in the Bacillius subtilis group alone. The specificity of many rap-phr alleles and the rapid gain and loss of Rap targets are experimentally demonstrated. Strikingly, both horizontal and vertical processes were shown to participate in this expansion, each with a distinct role. Horizontal gene transfer governs the acquisition of already diverged rap-phr alleles, while intralocus duplication and divergence of the phr gene create the promiscuous intermediate required for the divergence of Rap-Phr specificity. Our results suggest a novel role for transient gene duplication and divergence during evolutionary shifts in specificity.