Assay of PCD activity by functional complementation in E. coli. A Tyr auxotroph (strain JP2255) was transformed with pACYC177 containing P. aeruginosa phhA or with pACYC177 (with the Ap gene inactivated) alone, plus pBluescript SK− alone or containing P. aeruginosa PCD (phhB) or COG2154 sequences from plants (a–j) or microbes (k–t). The doubly transformed cells were plated on medium plus or minus Tyr. Each plate included a positive control (sector 1, phhA + P. aeruginosa PCD) and a negative control (sector 2, phhA + pBluescript). Key to COG2154 genes: a, Arabidopsis thaliana 1 (At1g29810); b, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii 1; c, Physcomitrella patens 1; d, Pinus taeda 1; e, Zea mays 1; f, A. thaliana 2 (At5g51110); g, C. reinhardtii 2; h, P. patens 2; i, P. taeda 2; j, Z. mays 2; k, Corynebacterium glutamicum; l, Streptomyces avermitilis; m, Cytophaga hutchinsonii; n, Vibrio cholerae; o, Bacillus cereus; p, Sulfolobus solfataricus; q, Silicibacter pomeroyi; r, Synechocystis; s, Saccharomyces cerevisiae; t, Leishmania major.