Figure 4

Predicted gene losses and gains in the evolution of the Anoxybacillus branch. The nodes (marked by black dots) indicate the last common ancestors (LCA) of the following taxonomic groups: the phylum Firmicutes, class Bacilli, order Bacillales, family Bacillaceae, and the Anoxybacillus/Geobacillus branch. Each node shows the predicted genome size of the given ancestral form and the likely number of gene losses and gains compared to the preceding node. The reconstruction of gene gains and losses was performed on the basis of COG phyletic patterns as described in [78].