scholarly journals The mef(E)-Carrying Genetic Element (mega) of Streptococcus pneumoniae: Insertion Sites and Association with Other Genetic Elements

2006 ◽  
Vol 50 (10) ◽  
pp. 3361-3366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Del Grosso ◽  
Romina Camilli ◽  
Francesco Iannelli ◽  
Gianni Pozzi ◽  
Annalisa Pantosti

ABSTRACT The structure of the macrolide efflux genetic assembly (mega) element, its genomic locations, and its association with other resistance determinants and genetic elements were investigated in 16 Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates carrying mef(E), of which 1 isolate also carried tet(M) and 4 isolates also carried tet(M) and erm(B). All isolates carried a mega element of similar size and structure that included the operon mef(E)-msr(D) encoding the efflux transport system. Among tetracycline-susceptible isolates, six different integration sites were identified, five of which were recognized inside open reading frames present in the R6 genome. In the five isolates also carrying tet(M), mega was inserted in different genetic contexts. In one isolate, it was part of previously described Tn916-like element Tn2009. In another isolate, mega was inserted in a transposon similar to Tn2009 that also included an erm(B) element. This new composite transposon was designated Tn2010. Neither Tn2009 nor Tn2010 could be transferred by conjugation to pneumococcal or enterococcal recipients. In the three isolates in which mega was not physically linked with tet(M), this gene was associated with erm(B) in transposon Tn3872, a Tn916-like element. Homologies between the chromosomal insertions of these composite transposons and sequences of multidrug-resistant pneumococcal genomes in the databases indicate the presence of preferential sites for the integration of composite Tn916-like elements carrying multiple resistance determinants in S. pneumoniae.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klara Wang ◽  
Marielou G. Tamayo ◽  
Tiffany V. Penner ◽  
Bradley W. M. Cook ◽  
Deborah A. Court ◽  
...  

Enterobacter cloacae is an opportunistic pathogen that causes hospital-acquired infections in immunocompromised patients. Here, we describe vB_EclM_CIP9, a novel Enterobacter phage that infects a multidrug-resistant isolate of E. cloacae. Phage vB_EclM_CIP9 is a myovirus that has a 174,924-bp genome, with 296 predicted open reading frames.


2000 ◽  
Vol 44 (9) ◽  
pp. 2585-2587 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Santagati ◽  
Francesco Iannelli ◽  
Marco R. Oggioni ◽  
Stefania Stefani ◽  
Gianni Pozzi

ABSTRACT The mef(A) gene from a clinical isolate ofStreptococcus pneumoniae exhibiting the M-type resistance to macrolides was found to be part of the 7,244-bp chromosomal element Tn1207.1, which contained 8 open reading frames.orf2 encodes a resolvase/invertase, and orf5 is a homolog of the macrolide-streptogramin B resistance genemsr(SA).


Mobile DNA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Macko-Podgórni ◽  
Katarzyna Stelmach ◽  
Kornelia Kwolek ◽  
Dariusz Grzebelus

Abstract Background Miniature inverted repeat transposable elements (MITEs) are small non-autonomous DNA transposons that are ubiquitous in plant genomes, and are mobilised by their autonomous relatives. Stowaway MITEs are derived from and mobilised by elements from the mariner superfamily. Those elements constitute a significant portion of the carrot genome; however the variation caused by Daucus carota Stowaway MITEs (DcStos), their association with genes and their putative impact on genome evolution has not been comprehensively analysed. Results Fourteen families of Stowaway elements DcStos occupy about 0.5% of the carrot genome. We systematically analysed 31 genomes of wild and cultivated Daucus carota, yielding 18.5 thousand copies of these elements, showing remarkable insertion site polymorphism. DcSto element demography differed based on the origin of the host populations, and corresponded with the four major groups of D. carota, wild European, wild Asian, eastern cultivated and western cultivated. The DcStos elements were associated with genes, and most frequently occurred in 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs). Individual families differed in their propensity to reside in particular segments of genes. Most importantly, DcSto copies in the 2 kb regions up- and downstream of genes were more frequently associated with open reading frames encoding transcription factors, suggesting their possible functional impact. More than 1.5% of all DcSto insertion sites in different host genomes contained different copies in exactly the same position, indicating the existence of insertional hotspots. The DcSto7b family was much more polymorphic than the other families in cultivated carrot. A line of evidence pointed at its activity in the course of carrot domestication, and identified Dcmar1 as an active carrot mariner element and a possible source of the transposition machinery for DcSto7b. Conclusion Stowaway MITEs have made a substantial contribution to the structural and functional variability of the carrot genome.


2008 ◽  
Vol 52 (11) ◽  
pp. 4115-4120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaele Zarrilli ◽  
Domenico Vitale ◽  
Anna Di Popolo ◽  
Maria Bagattini ◽  
Ziad Daoud ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT We investigated the basis of the carbapenem resistance of 17 multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii clinical isolates collected from 2004 to 2005 at the Saint George University Hospital in Beirut, Lebanon. A. baumannii isolates were clonally related and were susceptible to colistin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, susceptible or intermediate to ampicillin-sulbactam and meropenem, and resistant to all other antimicrobials. Conjugation experiments demonstrated that resistance to imipenem could be transferred along with a plasmid containing the carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinase bla OXA-58 gene. The plasmid that we called pABIR was 29,823 bp in size and showed a novel mosaic structure composed of two origins of replication, four insertion sequence (IS) elements, and 28 open reading frames. The bla OXA-58 gene was flanked by IS18 and ISAba3 elements at the 5′ and 3′ ends, respectively. The production of the carbapenem-hydrolyzing oxacillinase OXA-58 was apparently the only mechanism for carbapenem resistance in A. baumannii isolates causing the outbreak at the Lebanese Hospital.


1999 ◽  
Vol 181 (19) ◽  
pp. 6214-6219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosario Muñoz ◽  
Marta Mollerach ◽  
Rubens López ◽  
Ernesto García

ABSTRACT The complete nucleotide sequence of the capsular gene cluster (cap8) responsible for the biosynthesis of the capsular polysaccharide of Streptococcus pneumoniae type 8 has been determined. The cap8 gene cluster, located between the genes dexB and aliA, is composed of 12 open reading frames. A 14.7-kb DNA fragment embracing the cap8genes was sufficient to transform an unencapsulated type 3 S. pneumoniae strain to a strain with the type 8 capsule. A possible scenario for the evolution of pneumococcal types 2 and 8 is outlined.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (1) ◽  
pp. 178-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monique Odaert ◽  
Annie Devalckenaere ◽  
Patrick Trieu-Cuot ◽  
Michel Simonet

ABSTRACT The genome of Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, contains at least 30 copies of an element, designated IS1541, which is structurally related to IS200(85% identity). One such element is inserted within the chromosomalinv gene (M. Simonet, B. Riot, N. Fortineau, and P. Berche, Infect. Immun. 64:375–379, 1996). We characterized other IS1541 insertions by cloning 14 different Y. pestis 6/69M loci carrying a single copy of this insertion sequence (IS) into Escherichia coli and, for each element, sequencing 250 bp of both flanking regions. In no case was this IS element inserted into large open reading frames; however, in eight cases, it was detected downstream (17 to 139 bp) of genes thought to be transcribed monocistronically or which constituted the last gene of an operon, and in only one case was it detected upstream (37 bp) of the first gene of an operon. Sequence analysis revealed stem-loop structures (ΔG, <−10 kcal) resembling rho-independent transcription terminators in 8 of the 14 insertion sites. These motifs might constitute hot spots for insertion of this IS1541element within the Y. pestis genome.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 1848
Author(s):  
Kyeongmin Kim ◽  
Md Maidul Islam ◽  
Dooyoung Kim ◽  
Sung Ho Yun ◽  
Jungmin Kim ◽  
...  

Acinetobacter baumannii is a nosocomial pathogen, which is a problem worldwide due to the emergence of a difficult-to-treat multidrug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAB). Endolysins are hydrolytic enzymes produced by a bacteriophage that can be used as a potential therapeutic agent for multidrug-resistant bacterial infection in replacing antibiotics. Here, we isolated a novel bacteriophage through prophage induction using mitomycin C from clinical A. baumannii 1656-2. Morphologically, ΦAb1656-2 was identified as a Siphoviridae family bacteriophage, which can infect MDRAB. The whole genome of ΦAb1656-2 was sequenced, and it showed that it is 50.9 kb with a G + C content of 38.6% and 68 putative open reading frames (ORFs). A novel endolysin named AbEndolysin with an N-acetylmuramidase-containing catalytic domain was identified, expressed, and purified from ΦAb1656-2. Recombinant AbEndolysin showed significant antibacterial activity against MDRAB clinical strains without any outer membrane permeabilizer. These results suggest that AbEndolysin could represent a potential antimicrobial agent for treating MDRAB clinical isolates.


1998 ◽  
Vol 180 (19) ◽  
pp. 5273-5278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Ramirez ◽  
Alexander Tomasz

ABSTRACT The complete DNA sequence of the capsular locus 23F ofStreptococcus pneumoniae is presented. The 18.6-kbcps23f locus is composed of 18 open reading frames flanked at the 5′ and 3′ ends by the genes dexB andaliA, an arrangement similar to those of some of the other identified cps loci.


2002 ◽  
Vol 184 (16) ◽  
pp. 4489-4499 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Carnoy ◽  
Stephanie Floquet ◽  
Michael Marceau ◽  
Florent Sebbane ◽  
Stephanie Haentjens-Herwegh ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Yersinia pseudotuberculosis produces YPM (Y. pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen), a superantigenic toxin that exacerbates the virulence of the bacterium in vivo. To date, three alleles of the superantigen gene (ypmA, ypmB, and ypmC) have been described. These genes are not found in all Y. pseudotuberculosis strains and have a low GC content, suggesting their location on mobile genetic elements. To elucidate this question, the genetic environment of the superantigen-encoding genes was characterized and 11 open reading frames (ORFs) were defined. Sequence analysis revealed that the ypm genes were not associated with plasmids, phages, transposons, or pathogenicity islands and that the superantigen genes were always located in the chromosome between ORF3 and ORF4. Nonsuperantigenic strains exhibited the same genetic organization of the locus but lacked the ypm gene between ORF3 and ORF4. A new insertion sequence, designated IS1398, which displays features of the Tn3 family, was characterized downstream of the ypmA and ypmC genes. A 13.3-kb region containing the ypm genes was not found in the genome of Y. pestis (CO92 and KIM 5 strains). We experimentally induced deletion of the ypm gene from a superantigen-expressing Y. pseudotuberculosis: using the association of aph(3′)-IIIa and sacB genes, we demonstrated that when these reporter genes were present in the ypm locus, deletion of these genes was about 250 times more frequent than when they were located in another region of the Y. pseudotuberculosis chromosome. These results indicate that unlike other superantigenic toxin genes, the Yersinia ypm genes are not associated with mobile genetic elements but are inserted in an unstable locus of the genome.


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