Insights into Dynamics of Mobile Genetic Elements in Hyperthermophilic Environments from Five New Thermococcus Plasmids
| Type | Article | ||||||||
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| Date | 2013-01 | ||||||||
| Language | English | ||||||||
| Author(s) | Krupovic Mart1, Gonnet Mathieu2, Ben Hania Wajdi3, Forterre Patrick1, 4, Erauso Gael2, 3 | ||||||||
| Affiliation(s) | 1 : Inst Pasteur, Dept Microbiol, Unite Biol Mol Gene Extremophiles, Paris, France. 2 : Univ Bretagne Occidentale, CNRS, IFREMER, Lab Microbiol Environm Extremes,UMR6197, Plouzane, France. 3 : UMR CNRS IRD 7294 235, Mediterranean Inst Oceanog, Equipe Microbiol Environm & Biotechnol, Marseille, France. 4 : Univ Paris 11, CNRS, UMR 8621, Lab Biol Mol Gene & Extremophiles,Inst Genet & Mi, F-91405 Orsay, France. |
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| Source | Plos One (1932-6203) (Public Library Science), 2013-01 , Vol. 8 , N. 1 , P. - | ||||||||
| DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0049044 | ||||||||
| WOS© Times Cited | 50 | ||||||||
| Abstract | Mobilome of hyperthermophilic archaea dwelling in deep-sea hydrothermal vents is poorly characterized. To gain insight into genetic diversity and dynamics of mobile genetic elements in these environments we have sequenced five new plasmids from different Thermococcus strains that have been isolated from geographically remote hydrothermal vents. The plasmids were ascribed to two subfamilies, pTN2-like and pEXT9a-like. Gene content and phylogenetic analyses illuminated a robust connection between pTN2-like plasmids and Pyrococcus abyssi virus 1 (PAV1), with roughly half of the viral genome being composed of genes that have homologues in plasmids. Unexpectedly, pEXT9a-like plasmids were found to be closely related to the previously sequenced plasmid pMETVU01 from Methanocaldococcus vulcanius M7. Our data suggests that the latter observation is most compatible with an unprecedented horizontal transfer of a pEXT9a-like plasmid from Thermococcales to Methanococcales. Gene content analysis revealed that thermococcal plasmids encode Hfq-like proteins and toxin-antitoxin (TA) systems of two different families, VapBC and RelBE. Notably, although abundant in archaeal genomes, to our knowledge, TA and hfq-like genes have not been previously found in archaeal plasmids or viruses. Finally, the plasmids described here might prove to be useful in developing new genetic tools for hyperthermophiles. | ||||||||
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