Ureaplasma urealyticum: an opportunity for combinatorial genomics

Abstract Examination of genomic or enzymatic activity data alone neither provides a complete picture of metabolic function or potential nor confidently reveals sites amenable to inhibition. Furthermore, in some cases, gene annotation and in aqua assays disagree by describing gene annotation without enzyme activity and enzyme activity without homologous annotation. The newly sequenced genome of Ureaplasma urealyticum ( parvum ) is another prokaryote example of the class Mollicutes where such confounding differences are observed. The little-considered role of some proteins as multifunctional enzymes – substitutes for ‘missing' genes – could both partially explain the apparent anomalies and relate to any inaccurate deductions of inhibitor function. A combinatorial analysis involving available evidence of genomic sequence, transcription, translational phenomena, structure and enzymatic activity gives the best picture of the organism's vital metabolic alternatives.