scholarly journals Precise Excision of the Large Pathogenicity Island, SPI7, in Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhi

2004 ◽  
Vol 186 (10) ◽  
pp. 3202-3213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Bueno ◽  
Carlos A. Santiviago ◽  
Alejandro A. Murillo ◽  
Juan A. Fuentes ◽  
A. Nicole Trombert ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The large pathogenicity island (SPI7) of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi is a 133,477-bp segment of DNA flanked by two 52-bp direct repeats overlapping the pheU (phenylalanyl-tRNA) gene, contains 151 potential open reading frames, and includes the viaB operon involved in the synthesis of Vi antigen. Some clinical isolates of S. enterica serovar Typhi are missing the entire SPI7, due to its precise excision; these strains have lost the ability to produce Vi antigen, are resistant to phage Vi-II, and invade a human epithelial cell line more rapidly. Excision of SPI7 occurs spontaneously in a clinical isolate of S. enterica serovar Typhi when it is grown in the laboratory, leaves an intact copy of the pheU gene at its novel join point, and results in the same three phenotypic consequences. SPI7 is an unstable genetic element, probably an intermediate in the pathway of lateral transfer of such pathogenicity islands among enteric gram-negative bacteria.

2015 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 4577-4583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Gómez-Sanz ◽  
Sybille Schwendener ◽  
Andreas Thomann ◽  
Stefanie Gobeli Brawand ◽  
Vincent Perreten

ABSTRACTA methicillin-resistantmecB-positiveMacrococcus caseolyticus(strain KM45013) was isolated from the nares of a dog with rhinitis. It contained a novel 39-kb transposon-defective completemecB-carrying staphylococcal cassette chromosomemecelement (SCCmecKM45013). SCCmecKM45013contained 49 coding sequences (CDSs), was integrated at the 3′ end of the chromosomalorfXgene, and was delimited at both ends by imperfect direct repeats functioning as integration site sequences (ISSs). SCCmecKM45013presented two discontinuous regions of homology (SCCmeccoverage of 35%) to the chromosomal and transposon Tn6045-associated SCCmec-like element ofM. caseolyticusJCSC7096: (i) themecgene complex (98.8% identity) and (ii) theccr-carrying segment (91.8% identity). Themecgene complex, located at the right junction of the cassette, also carried the β-lactamase geneblaZm(mecRm-mecIm-mecB-blaZm). SCCmecKM45013contained two cassette chromosome recombinase genes,ccrAm2andccrBm2, which shared 94.3% and 96.6% DNA identity with those of the SCCmec-like element of JCSC7096 but shared less than 52% DNA identity with the staphylococcalccrABandccrCgenes. Three distinct extrachromosomal circularized elements (the entire SCCmecKM45013, ΨSCCmecKM45013lacking theccrgenes, and SCCKM45013lackingmecB) flanked by one ISS copy, as well as the chromosomal regions remaining after excision, were detected. An unconventional circularized structure carrying themecBgene complex was associated with two extensive direct repeat regions, which enclosed two open reading frames (ORFs) (ORF46 and ORF51) flanking the chromosomalmecB-carrying gene complex. This study revealedM. caseolyticusas a potential disease-associated bacterium in dogs and also unveiled an SCCmecelement carryingmecBnot associated with Tn6045in the genusMacrococcus.


2005 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 1158-1165 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Wain ◽  
D. House ◽  
A. Zafar ◽  
S. Baker ◽  
S. Nair ◽  
...  

2010 ◽  
Vol 192 (20) ◽  
pp. 5289-5303 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Peter Wolk ◽  
Sigal Lechno-Yossef ◽  
Karin M. Jäger

ABSTRACT Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120, widely studied, has 145 annotated transposase genes that are part of transposable elements called insertion sequences (ISs). To determine the entirety of the ISs, we aligned transposase genes and their flanking regions; identified the ISs' possible terminal inverted repeats, usually flanked by direct repeats; and compared IS-interrupted sequences with homologous sequences. We thereby determined both ends of 87 ISs bearing 110 transposase genes in eight IS families (http://www-is.biotoul.fr/ ) and in a cluster of unclassified ISs, and of hitherto unknown miniature inverted-repeat transposable elements. Open reading frames were then identified to which ISs contributed and others—some encoding proteins of predictable function, including protein kinases, and restriction endonucleases—that were interrupted by ISs. Anabaena sp. ISs were often more closely related to exogenous than to other endogenous ISs, suggesting that numerous variant ISs were not degraded within PCC 7120 but transferred from without. This observation leads to the expectation that further sequencing projects will extend this and similar analyses. We also propose an adaptive role for poly(A) sequences in ISs.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (17) ◽  
pp. 4693-4703 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tendai Mhlanga-Mutangadura ◽  
Gregory Morlin ◽  
Arnold L. Smith ◽  
Abraham Eisenstark ◽  
Miriam Golomb

ABSTRACT Haemophilus influenzae is a ubiquitous colonizer of the human respiratory tract and causes diseases ranging from otitis media to meningitis. Many H. influenzae isolates express pili (fimbriae), which mediate adherence to epithelial cells and facilitate colonization. The pilus gene (hif) cluster of H. influenzae type b maps between purE andpepN and resembles a pathogenicity island: it is present in invasive strains, absent from the nonpathogenic Rd strain, and flanked by direct repeats of sequence at the insertion site. To investigate the evolution and role in pathogenesis of the hif cluster, we compared the purE-pepN regions of various H. influenzae laboratory strains and clinical isolates. Unlike Rd, most strains had an insert at this site, which usually was the only chromosomal locus of hif DNA. The inserts are diverse in length and organization: among 20 strains, nine different arrangements were found. Several nontypeable isolates lack hif genes but have two conserved open reading frames (hicA andhicB) upstream of purE; their inferred products are small proteins with no data bank homologs. Other isolates havehif genes but lack hic DNA or have combinations of hif and hic genes. By comparing these arrangements, we have reconstructed a hypothetical ancestral genotype, the extended hif cluster. The hif region of INT1, an invasive nontypeable isolate, resembles the hypothetical ancestor. We propose that a progenitor strain acquired the extended cluster by horizontal transfer and that other variants arose as deletions. The structure of the hif cluster may correlate with colonization site or pathogenicity.


2003 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 5087-5096 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. R. Parreira ◽  
C. L. Gyles

ABSTRACT We report the complete nucleotide sequence and genetic organization of the Vat-encoding pathogenicity island (PAI) of avian pathogenic Escherichia coli strain Ec222. The 22,139-bp PAI is situated adjacent to the 3′ terminus of the thrW tRNA gene, has a G+C content of 41.2%, and includes a bacteriophage SfII integrase gene, mobile genetic elements, two open reading frames with products exhibiting sequence similarity to known proteins, and several other open reading frames of unknown function. The PAI encodes an autotransporter protein, Vat (vacuolating autotransporter toxin), which induces the formation of intracellular vacuoles resulting in cytotoxic effects similar to those caused by the VacA toxin from Helicobacter pylori. The predicted 148.3-kDa protein product possesses the three domains that are typical of serine protease autotransporters of Enterobacteriaceae: an N-terminal signal sequence of 55 amino acids, a 111.8-kDa passenger domain containing a modified serine protease site (ATSGSG), and a C-terminal outer membrane translocator of 30.5 kDa. Vat has 75% protein homology with the hemagglutinin Tsh, an autotransporter of avian pathogenic E. coli. A vat deletion mutant of Ec222 showed no virulence in respiratory and cellulitis infection models of disease in broiler chickens. We conclude that the newly described PAI and Vat may be involved in the pathogenicity of avian septicemic E. coli strain Ec222 and other avian pathogenic E. coli strains.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (19) ◽  
pp. 5234-5239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa D. Ho ◽  
Nara Figueroa-Bossi ◽  
Minhua Wang ◽  
Sergio Uzzau ◽  
Lionello Bossi ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The Gifsy-2 temperate bacteriophage of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium contributes significantly to the pathogenicity of strains that carry it as a prophage. Previous studies have shown that Gifsy-2 encodes SodCI, a periplasmic Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase, and at least one additional virulence factor. Gifsy-2 encodes a Salmonella pathogenicity island 2 type III secreted effector protein. Sequence analysis of the Gifsy-2 genome also identifies several open reading frames with homology to those of known virulence genes. However, we found that null mutations in these genes did not individually have a significant effect on the ability of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium to establish a systemic infection in mice. Using deletion analysis, we have identified a gene, gtgE, which is necessary for the full virulence of S. enterica serovar Typhimurium Gifsy-2 lysogens. Together, GtgE and SodCI account for the contribution of Gifsy-2 to S. enterica serovar Typhimurium virulence in the murine model.


2009 ◽  
Vol 191 (19) ◽  
pp. 5964-5975 ◽  
Author(s):  
Davida S. Smyth ◽  
D. Ashley Robinson

ABSTRACT A survey of chromosomal variation in the ST239 clonal group of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) revealed a novel genetic element, ICE6013. The element is 13,354 bp in length, excluding a 6,551-bp Tn552 insertion. ICE6013 is flanked by 3-bp direct repeats and is demarcated by 8-bp imperfect inverted repeats. The element was present in 6 of 15 genome-sequenced S. aureus strains, and it was detected using genetic markers in 19 of 44 diverse MRSA and methicillin-susceptible strains and in all 111 ST239 strains tested. Low integration site specificity was discerned. Multiple chromosomal copies and the presence of extrachromosomal circular forms of ICE6013 were detected in various strains. The circular forms included 3-bp coupling sequences, located between the 8-bp ends of the element, that corresponded to the 3-bp direct repeats flanking the chromosomal forms. ICE6013 is predicted to encode 15 open reading frames, including an IS30-like DDE transposase in place of a Tyr/Ser recombinase and homologs of gram-positive bacterial conjugation components. Further sequence analyses indicated that ICE6013 is more closely related to ICEBs1 from Bacillus subtilis than to the only other potential integrative conjugative element known from S. aureus, Tn5801. Evidence of recombination between ICE6013 elements is also presented. In summary, ICE6013 is the first member of a new family of active, integrative genetic elements that are widely dispersed within S. aureus strains.


2001 ◽  
Vol 75 (16) ◽  
pp. 7305-7314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elyanne Gault ◽  
Nathalie Schnepf ◽  
Didier Poncet ◽  
Annabelle Servant ◽  
Séverine Teran ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT A human rotavirus (isolate M) with an atypical electropherotype with 14 apparent bands of double-stranded RNA was isolated from a chronically infected immunodeficient child. MA-104 cell culture adaptation showed that the M isolate was a mixture of viruses containing standard genes (M0) or rearranged genes: M1 (containing a rearranged gene 7) and M2 (containing rearranged genes 7 and 11). The rearranged gene 7 of virus M1 (gene 7R) was very unusual because it contained two complete open reading frames (ORF). Moreover, serial propagation of virus M1 in cell culture indicated that gene 7R rapidly evolved, leading to a virus with a deleted gene 7R (gene 7RΔ). Gene 7RΔ coded for a modified NSP3 protein (NSP3m) of 599 amino acids (aa) containing a repetition of aa 8 to 296. The virus M3 (containing gene 7RΔ) was not defective in cell culture and actually produced NSP3m. The rearranged gene 11 (gene 11R) had a more usual pattern, with a partial duplication leading to a normal ORF followed by a long 3′ untranslated region. The rearrangement in gene 11R was almost identical to some of those previously described, suggesting that there is a hot spot for gene rearrangements at a specific location on the sequence. It has been suggested that in some cases the existence of short direct repeats could favor the occurrence of rearrangement at a specific site. The computer modeling of gene 7 and 11 mRNAs led us to propose a new mechanism for gene rearrangements in which secondary structures, besides short direct repeats, might facilitate and direct the transfer of the RNA polymerase from the 5′ to the 3′ end of the plus-strand RNA template during the replication step.


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