A cryptic 19-kilobase plasmid associated with U.S. isolates of Yersinia pestis: a dimer of the 9.5-kilobase plasmid.

Chu, May C.; Dong, Xing-qi; Zhou, Xiang; Garon, C. E.

doi:10.4269/ajtmh.1998.59.679

Cited by 22 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Therefore, understanding the variation in plasmid size found among different Y. pestis isolates is important for differentiating natural variation from engineered variation leading to potentially greater virulence in strains harboring such theoretical constructs. Hence, the pPst plasmid isolated from strains circulating in several natural foci have been found to have additional sequences enlarging it from 6 up to 8 MDa (18,62) or can even harbor a dimer of the plasmid (42). pCad and especially pFra may also vary in size depending on the geographical origin of the isolate ( (147,152).…”

Section: Plasmid Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific Diversity ofYersinia pestis

2004

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Increased interest in the pathogenic potential of Yersinia pestis has emerged because of the potential threats from bioterrorism. Pathogenic potential is based on genetic factors present in a population of microbes, yet most studies evaluating the role of specific genes in virulence have used a limited number of strains. For Y. pestis this issue is complicated by the fact that most strains available for study in the Americas are clonally derived and thus genetically restricted, emanating from a strain of Y. pestis introduced into the United States in 1902 via marine shipping and subsequent spread of this strain throughout North and South America. In countries from the former Soviet Union (FSU), Mongolia, and China there are large areas of enzootic foci of Y. pestis infection containing genetically diverse strains that have been intensely studied by scientists in these countries. However, the results of these investigations are not generally known outside of these countries. Here we describe the variety of methods used in the FSU to classify Y. pestis strains based on genetic and phenotypic variation and show that there is a high level of diversity in these strains not reflected by ones obtained from sylvatic areas and patients in the Americas

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Section: Plasmid Contentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific Diversity ofYersinia pestis

2004

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“…It is not clear if the presence of this chimeric plasmid provides any advantage to strain Angola or arose due to defects in plasmid maintenance and the replication of pMT and pPCP. Enzymatic defects cause incomplete partitioning during replication and decatenation and might result in the dimeric plasmid (14). We speculate that the unique plasmid architecture in Angola helps to guarantee a stable maintenance of both plasmids pMT and pPCP, as these two virulence plasmids are known to be unstable in Y. pestis (44).…”

Section: Microevolution Of the Virulence Plasmidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Unusual sizes among the typical virulence plasmids previously were attributed to intrachromosomal deletions and the lateral acquisition of genomic fragments (28). It is noteworthy that architectural variations consisting of independently replicating pPCP dimers have been reported in strains isolated from the western United States (14). The pMT-PCP plasmid is composed of the murine toxin plasmid disrupted by two tandemly repeated copies of the pPCP plasmid.…”

Section: Microevolution Of the Virulence Plasmidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, Y. pestis harbors the low-calcium-response plasmid pCD, which it inherited from its closest relative, Y. pseudotuberculosis (pYV) (12), and it also is found in the more distantly related Y. enterocolitica (71). So-called cryptic plasmids have been described in the literature as part of the Y. pestis mobilome (71), but no sequence data are available to decipher the nature and impact of such plasmids in the epidemiology and pathogenicity of Y. pestis (14). Y. pestis isolates have been historically grouped into the biovars Antiqua (ANT), Medievalis (MED), and Orientalis (ORI), based on metabolic properties such as nitrate reduction and fermentation patterns (72).…”

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Genome Sequence of the Deep-Rooted Yersinia pestis Strain Angola Reveals New Insights into the Evolution and Pangenome of the Plague Bacterium

et al. 2010

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To gain insights into the origin and genome evolution of the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis, we have sequenced the deep-rooted strain Angola, a virulent Pestoides isolate. Its ancient nature makes this atypical isolate of particular importance in understanding the evolution of plague pathogenicity. Its chromosome features a unique genetic make-up intermediate between modern Y. pestis isolates and its evolutionary ancestor, Y. pseudotuberculosis. Our genotypic and phenotypic analyses led us to conclude that Angola belongs to one of the most ancient Y. pestis lineages thus far sequenced. The mobilome carries the first reported chimeric plasmid combining the two species-specific virulence plasmids. Genomic findings were validated in virulence assays demonstrating that its pathogenic potential is distinct from modern Y. pestis isolates. Human infection with this particular isolate would not be diagnosed by the standard clinical tests, as Angola lacks the plasmid-borne capsule, and a possible emergence of this genotype raises major public health concerns. To assess the genomic plasticity in Y. pestis, we investigated the global gene reservoir and estimated the pangenome at 4,844 unique protein-coding genes. As shown by the genomic analysis of this evolutionary key isolate, we found that the genomic plasticity within Y. pestis clearly was not as limited as previously thought, which is strengthened by the detection of the largest number of isolate-specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) currently reported in the species. This study identified numerous novel genetic signatures, some of which seem to be intimately associated with plague virulence. These markers are valuable in the development of a robust typing system critical for forensic, diagnostic, and epidemiological studies.

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“…Furthermore, all the strains carrying these bands expressed the pPst encoded properties coagulase and pesticin. Accordingly with these results, Chu et al (7) showed that an additional-small plasmid of about 19 kb is likely a dimer of pPst.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Homology among extra-cryptic DNA bands and the typical plasmids in Brazilian Yersinia pestis strains

Leal

Sobreira

Leal

et al. 2000

Braz. J. Microbiol.

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Yersinia pestis, the etiologic agent of plague, harbors three well-characterized plasmids: pFra (90-110kb), pYV (70 kb) and pPst (9.5 kb). Furthermore, some extra-cryptic DNA bands have been observed in a number of wild strains from several foci of the world. Additional bands have also been reported in Brazilian strains. Looking for any relationship among these cryptic DNA bands and the three-prototypical plasmids, we analyzed twelve strains displaying different plasmid content. The DNA bands were hybridized by southern blot with probes directed at the genes caf1, lcrV and pla located respectively on the plasmids pFra, pYV and pPst. The probes were constructed by PCR amplification and labeled with digoxigenin. The Pla probe hybridized with its target (pPst) and with bands of about 35 kb suggesting some homology among them. The Caf1 probe hybridized with the target (pFra) as well as with higher bands. The LcrV also hybridized with the target (pYV) and both with the bands higher than pFra and the bands between pFra and pYV. These results suggest that the large-cryptic bands could represent some rearrangement, open circular or linearized forms of the pFra and pYV plasmids.

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A cryptic 19-kilobase plasmid associated with U.S. isolates of Yersinia pestis: a dimer of the 9.5-kilobase plasmid.

Cited by 22 publications

References 23 publications

Intraspecific Diversity ofYersinia pestis

Intraspecific Diversity ofYersinia pestis

Genome Sequence of the Deep-Rooted Yersinia pestis Strain Angola Reveals New Insights into the Evolution and Pangenome of the Plague Bacterium

Homology among extra-cryptic DNA bands and the typical plasmids in Brazilian Yersinia pestis strains

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