Dataset Information

Investigation of horizontal gene transfer of pathogenicity islands in Escherichia coli using next-generation sequencing.

ABSTRACT: Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributes to the evolution of bacteria. All extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) harbour pathogenicity islands (PAIs), however relatively little is known about the acquisition of these PAIs. Due to these islands, ExPEC have properties to colonize and invade its hosts efficiently. Even though these PAIs are known to be acquired by HGT, only very few PAIs do carry mobilization and transfer genes required for the transmission by HGT. In this study, we apply for the first time next-generation sequencing (NGS) and in silico analyses in combination with in vitro experiments to decipher the mechanisms of PAI acquisition in ExPEC. For this, we investigated three neighbouring E. coli PAIs, namely the high-pathogenicity island (HPI), the pks and the serU island. As these PAIs contain no mobilization and transfer genes, they are immobile and dependent on transfer vehicles. By whole genome sequencing of the entire E. coli reference (ECOR) collection and by applying a phylogenetic approach we could unambiguously demonstrate that these PAIs are transmitted not only vertically, but also horizontally. Furthermore, we could prove in silico that distinct groups of PAIs were transferred "en bloc" in conjunction with the neighbouring chromosomal backbone. We traced this PAI transfer in vitro using an F' plasmid. Different lengths of transferred DNA were exactly detectable in the sequenced transconjugants indicating NGS as a powerful tool for determination of PAI transfer.

SUBMITTER: Messerer M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5521745 | biostudies-other | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Investigation of horizontal gene transfer of pathogenicity islands in Escherichia coli using next-generation sequencing.

Messerer Maxim M Fischer Wolfgang W Schubert Sören S

PloS one 20170721 7

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) contributes to the evolution of bacteria. All extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli (ExPEC) harbour pathogenicity islands (PAIs), however relatively little is known about the acquisition of these PAIs. Due to these islands, ExPEC have properties to colonize and invade its hosts efficiently. Even though these PAIs are known to be acquired by HGT, only very few PAIs do carry mobilization and transfer genes required for the transmission by HGT. In this study, we ...[more]

PMID: 28732043

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Project description:Horizontal transfer of genetic material between complex organisms often involves transposable elements (TEs). For example, a DNA transposon mariner has been shown to undergo horizontal transfer between different orders of insects and between different phyla of animals. Here we report the discovery and characterization of an ITmD37D transposon, MJ1, in Anopheles sinensis. We show that some MJ1 elements in Aedes aegypti and An. sinensis contain intact open reading frames and share nearly 99% nucleotide identity over the entire transposon, which is unexpectedly high given that these two genera had diverged 145-200 million years ago. Chromosomal hybridization and TE-display showed that MJ1 copy number is low in An. sinensis. Among 24 mosquito species surveyed, MJ1 is only found in Ae. aegypti and the hyrcanus group of anopheline mosquitoes to which An. sinensis belongs. Phylogenetic analysis is consistent with horizontal transfer and provides the basis for inference of its timing and direction. Although report of horizontal transfer of DNA transposons between higher eukaryotes is accumulating, our analysis is one of a small number of cases in which horizontal transfer of nearly identical TEs among highly divergent species has been thoroughly investigated and strongly supported. Horizontal transfer involving mosquitoes is of particular interest because there are ongoing investigations of the possibility of spreading pathogen-resistant genes into mosquito populations to control malaria and other infectious diseases. The initial indication of horizontal transfer of MJ1 came from comparisons between a 0.4x coverage An. sinensis 454 sequence database and available TEs in mosquito genomes. Therefore we have shown that it is feasible to use low coverage sequencing to systematically uncover horizontal transfer events. Expanding such efforts across a wide range of species will generate novel insights into the relative frequency of horizontal transfer of different TEs and provide the evolutionary context of these lateral transfer events.

Dataset Information

Investigation of horizontal gene transfer of pathogenicity islands in Escherichia coli using next-generation sequencing.

Publications

Investigation of horizontal gene transfer of pathogenicity islands in Escherichia coli using next-generation sequencing.

Similar Datasets

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