Horizontal Gene Transfer in Bacteria, an Overview of the Mechanisms Involved

Villa, Tomás G.; Feijoo-Siota, Lucía; Sánchez-Pérez, Alicia; Rama, Jl. R.; Sieiro, Carmen

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21862-1_1

Cited by 19 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 526 publications

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“…HGT is the process of the transfer of genetic information between organisms that are not directly related, and includes the spread of antibiotic resistance genes among bacteria [102]. There are three main mechanisms of HGT in bacteria: conjugation, natural transformation and transduction, which involve plasmids, naked DNA and bacteriophages, respectively.…”

Section: Args Spread By Hgt Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manure as a Potential Hotspot for Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination by Horizontal Gene Transfer Events

Lima

Domingues

Silva

2020

Veterinary Sciences

125

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The increasing demand for animal-derived foods has led to intensive and large-scale livestock production with the consequent formation of large amounts of manure. Livestock manure is widely used in agricultural practices as soil fertilizer worldwide. However, several antibiotic residues, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and antibiotic-resistant bacteria are frequently detected in manure and manure-amended soils. This review explores the role of manure in the persistence and dissemination of ARGs in the environment, analyzes the procedures used to decrease antimicrobial resistance in manure and the potential impact of manure application in public health. We highlight that manure shows unique features as a hotspot for antimicrobial gene dissemination by horizontal transfer events: richness in nutrients, a high abundance and diversity of bacteria populations and antibiotic residues that may exert a selective pressure on bacteria and trigger gene mobilization; reduction methodologies are able to reduce the concentrations of some, but not all, antimicrobials and microorganisms. Conjugation events are often seen in the manure environment, even after composting. Antibiotic resistance is considered a growing threat to human, animal and environmental health. Therefore, it is crucial to reduce the amount of antimicrobials and the load of antimicrobial resistant bacteria that end up in soil.

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Section: Args Spread By Hgt Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Manure as a Potential Hotspot for Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination by Horizontal Gene Transfer Events

Lima

Domingues

Silva

2020

Veterinary Sciences

125

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“…DNA transfer, or self-transmissible plasmids have been described for both bacteria and archaea (1)(2)(3)(4)(5), natural transformation machinery has been described only for members of the bacterial domain (6). To date, several members of the archaea have been described as naturally competent.…”

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confidence: 99%

Type IV-Like Pili Facilitate Transformation in Naturally Competent Archaea

et al. 2020

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Naturally competent organisms are capable of DNA uptake directly from the environment through the process of transformation. Despite the importance of transformation to microbial evolution, DNA uptake remains poorly characterized outside the bacterial domain. Here, we identify the pilus as a necessary component of the transformation machinery in archaea. We describe two naturally competent organisms: Methanococcus maripaludis and Methanoculleus thermophilus. In M. maripaludis, replicative vectors were transferred with an average efficiency of 2.4 x 103 transformants μg-1 DNA. In M. thermophilus, integrative vectors were transferred with an average efficiency of 2.7 x 103 transformants μg-1 DNA. Additionally, natural transformation of M. thermophilus could be used to introduce chromosomal mutations. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a method to introduce targeted mutations in a member of the order Methanomicrobiales. For both organisms, mutants lacking structural components of the type IV-like pilus filament were defective for DNA uptake, demonstrating the importance of pili for natural transformation. Interestingly, competence could be induced in a non-competent strain of M. maripaludis by expressing pilin genes from a replicative vector. These results expand the known natural competence pili to include examples from the archaeal domain and highlight the importance of pili for DNA uptake in diverse microbial organisms. Importance Microbial organisms adapt and evolve by acquiring new genetic material through horizontal gene transfer. One way this occurs is natural transformation, the direct uptake and genomic incorporation of environmental DNA by competent organisms. Archaea represent up to a third of the biodiversity on Earth, yet little is known about transformation in these organisms. Here we provide the first characterization of a component of the archaeal DNA uptake machinery. We show that the type IV-like pilus is essential for natural transformation in two archaeal species. This suggests that pili are important for transformation across the tree of life and further expands our understanding of gene flow in archaea.

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“…Pal and Sengupta Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (2021) 19:47 amino acid sequence is a translated message from its coding gene sequence, but DNA sequences are much likely to recombination or mutations especially in prokaryotes by transposons or horizontal gene transfer within relative species [34]. The gene diversity is more frequent in comparison to diversity in protein sequences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

In silico analysis of phylogeny, structure, and function of arsenite oxidase from unculturable microbiome of arsenic contaminated soil

Pal

Sengupta

2021

Journal of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

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Background Arsenite oxidase (EC 1.20.2.1) is a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the oxidation of arsenite into lesser toxic arsenate. In this study, 78 amino acid sequences of arsenite oxidase from unculturable bacteria available in metagenomic data of arsenic-contaminated soil have been characterized by using standard bioinformatics tools to investigate its phylogenetic relationships, three-dimensional structure and functional parameters. Results The phylogenetic relationship of all arsenite oxidase from unculturable microorganisms was revealed their closeness to bacterial order Rhizobiales. The higher aliphatic content showed that these enzymes are thermostable and could be used for in situ bioremediation. A representative protein from each phylogenetic cluster was analysed for secondary structure arrangements which indicated the presence of α-helices (~63%), β-sheets (57–60%) and turns (13–15%). The validated 3D models suggested that these proteins are hetero-dimeric with two chains whereas alpha chain is the main catalytic subunit which binds with arsenic oxides. Three representative protein models were deposited in Protein Model Database. The query enzymes were predicted with two conserved motifs, one is Rieske 3Fe-4S and the other is molybdopterin protein. Conclusions Computational analysis of protein interactome revealed the protein partners might be involved in the whole process of arsenic detoxification by Rhizobiales. The overall report is unique to the best of our knowledge, and the importance of this study is to understand the theoretical aspects of the structure and functions of arsenite oxidase in unculturable bacteria residing in arsenic-contaminated sites.

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Horizontal Gene Transfer in Bacteria, an Overview of the Mechanisms Involved

Cited by 19 publications

References 526 publications

Manure as a Potential Hotspot for Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination by Horizontal Gene Transfer Events

Manure as a Potential Hotspot for Antibiotic Resistance Dissemination by Horizontal Gene Transfer Events

Type IV-Like Pili Facilitate Transformation in Naturally Competent Archaea

In silico analysis of phylogeny, structure, and function of arsenite oxidase from unculturable microbiome of arsenic contaminated soil

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