What are superintegrons?
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Chromosomes, Bacterial↗
Biomedical subjects
Andrew J Holmes
Publications and source records attributed to Andrew J Holmes.
Soluble di-iron monooxygenase gene diversity in soils, sediments and ethene enrichments.
Soluble di-iron monooxygenases (SDIMOs) are key enzymes in the bacterial oxidation of hydrocarbons, and have applications in environmental and industrial biotechnology. SDIMOs from pure cultures are unlikely to represent the total diversity of this enzyme family, so we used polymerase chain reaction to survey the diversity of SDIMO alpha subunit genes in environmental samples, ethene enrichments and ethene-degrading bacterial isolates. From 178 cloned amplicons, 98 restriction fragment length polymorphism types were seen, from which 75 representative SDIMO sequences were obtained; 45 from environmental samples, 25 from enrichments and seven from isolates. The sequences were diverse, including genes similar to ethene (etnC), propene (amoC, pmoC), propane (prmA) and butane (bmoX) monooxygenases, in addition to many novel sequences comprising a new SDIMO group (group 6). Environmental samples showed the highest diversity, with strong representation of group 6 SDIMOs and prmA-like genes. Ethene stimulation of samples resulted in increased frequencies of group 4 SDIMOs (etnC-like). Four ethene-utilizing Mycobacterium isolates (NBB1-NBB4) from enrichments all contained etnC; one isolate (NBB4) also contained three additional SDIMO genes (bmoX-like, amoC-like and group 6). The primers, database, clone libraries and strains reported here provide a resource for future bioremediation and biocatalysis studies, with particular relevance for chlorinated alkene and alkane compounds.
Bacteriological Techniques↗
Integrons in Xanthomonas: a source of species genome diversity.
Integrons are best known for assembling antibiotic resistance genes in clinical bacteria. They capture genes by using integrase-mediated site-specific recombination of mobile gene cassettes. Integrons also occur in the chromosomes of many bacteria, notably beta- and gamma-Proteobacteria. In a survey of Xanthomonas, integrons were found in all 32 strains representing 12 pathovars of two species. Their chromosomal location was downstream from the acid dehydratase gene, ilvD, suggesting that an integron was present at this site in the ancestral xanthomonad. There was considerable sequence and structural diversity among the extant integrons. The majority of integrase genes were predicted to be inactivated by frameshifts, stop codons, or large deletions, suggesting that the associated gene cassettes can no longer be mobilized. In support, groups of strains with the same deletions or stop codons/frameshifts in their integrase gene usually contained identical arrays of gene cassettes. In general, strains within individual pathovars had identical cassettes, and these exhibited no similarity to cassettes detected in other pathovars. The variety and characteristics of contemporary gene cassettes suggests that the ancestral integron had access to a diverse pool of these mobile elements, and that their genes originated outside the Xanthomonas genome. Subsequent inactivation of the integrase gene in particular lineages has largely fixed the gene cassette arrays in particular pathovars during their differentiation and specialization into ecological niches. The acquisition of diverse gene cassettes by different lineages within Xanthomonas has contributed to the species-genome diversity of the genus. The role of gene cassettes in survival on plant surfaces is currently unknown.
Chromosome Mapping↗
The native Pseudomonas stutzeri strain Q chromosomal integron can capture and express cassette-associated genes.
The integron-gene cassette system contributes to multiple antibiotic resistance in bacteria and is likely to be of broader evolutionary significance. However, the majority of integron diversity consists of chromosomal integrons (CIs), with mostly unknown phenotypes, which are poorly characterized. A pUC-based reporter plasmid (pUS23) was developed containing a recombination site [aadB 59 base element (59-be)] upstream of promoterless aadB [gentamicin (Gm) resistance] and gfp (green fluorescence) genes, and this construct was used to investigate the recombination and expression activities of the CI in Pseudomonas stutzeri strain Q. Electroporation of pUS23 into P. stutzeri Q gave ampicillin-resistant transformants, which yielded Gm(R) green fluorescent recombinants after plating on Gm medium. Site-specific integration of pUS23 at attI was detected by PCR in 8 % of Gm(R) colonies and the frequency of attI integration was estimated as 2.0 x 10(-8) per P. stutzeri Q(pUS23) cell. RT-PCR confirmed integron-mediated expression of aadB in one recombinant strain (Q23-17) and a promoter (P(c)) was localized to the 5' end of the intI gene. The integrated pUS23 and flanking integron DNA were cloned from genomic DNA of strain Q23-17 and sequenced, confirming that site-specific integration of the entire reporter plasmid had occurred at the attI site. An insertion sequence (ISPst5; IS5 family) was discovered in the vector backbone of the reporter plasmid integrated at attI and also in a pUS23 derivative recovered as a plasmid in Escherichia coli JM109. This is the first demonstration that wild-type CIs can capture gene cassettes and express cassette-associated genes.
Ampicillin Resistance↗
Integron-associated mobile gene cassettes code for folded proteins: the structure of Bal32a, a new member of the adaptable alpha+beta barrel family.
The wide-ranging physiology and large genetic variability observed for prokaryotes is largely attributed, not to the prokaryotic genome itself, but rather to mechanisms of lateral gene transfer. Cassette PCR has been used to sample the integron/gene cassette metagenome from different natural environments without laboratory cultivation of the host organism, and without prior knowledge of any target protein sequence. Since over 90% of cassette genes are unrelated to any sequence in the current databases, it is not clear whether these genes code for folded functional proteins. We have selected a sample of eight cassette-encoded genes with no known homologs; five have been isolated as soluble protein products and shown by biophysical techniques to be folded. In solution, at least three of these proteins organise as stable oligomeric assemblies. The tertiary structure of one of these, Bal32a derived from a contaminated soil site, has been solved by X-ray crystallography to 1.8 A resolution. From the three-dimensional structure, Bal32a is found to be a member of the highly adaptable alpha+beta barrel family of transport proteins and enzymes. In Bal32a, the barrel cavity is unusually deep and inaccessible to solvent. Polar side-chains in its interior are reminiscent of catalytic sites of limonene-1,2-epoxide hydrolase and nogalonic acid methyl ester cyclase. These studies demonstrate the viability of direct sampling of mobile DNA as a route for the discovery of novel proteins.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Spatial scaling of microbial eukaryote diversity.
Patterns in the spatial distribution of organisms provide important information about mechanisms that regulate the diversity of life and the complexity of ecosystems. Although microorganisms may comprise much of the Earth's biodiversity and have critical roles in biogeochemistry and ecosystem functioning, little is known about their spatial diversification. Here we present quantitative estimates of microbial community turnover at local and regional scales using the largest spatially explicit microbial diversity data set available (> 10(6) sample pairs). Turnover rates were small across large geographical distances, of similar magnitude when measured within distinct habitats, and did not increase going from one vegetation type to another. The taxa-area relationship of these terrestrial microbial eukaryotes was relatively flat (slope z = 0.074) and consistent with those reported in aquatic habitats. This suggests that despite high local diversity, microorganisms may have only moderate regional diversity. We show how turnover patterns can be used to project taxa-area relationships up to whole continents. Taxa dissimilarities across continents and between them would strengthen these projections. Such data do not yet exist, but would be feasible to collect.
Ascomycota↗
Mobile gene cassettes: a fundamental resource for bacterial evolution.
Horizontal gene transfer increases genetic diversity in prokaryotes to a degree not allowed by the limitations of reproduction by binary fission. The integron/gene cassette system is one of the most recently characterized examples of a system that facilitates horizontal gene transfer. This system, discovered in the context of multidrug resistance, is recognized in a clinical context for its role in allowing pathogens to adapt to the widespread use of antibiotics. Recent studies suggest that gene cassettes are common and encode functions relevant to many adaptive traits. To estimate the diversity of mobile cassettes in a natural environment, a molecular technique was developed to provide representative distributions of cassette populations at points within a sampling area. Subsequently, statistical methods analogous to those used for calculating species diversity were employed to assess the diversity of gene cassettes within the sample area in addition to gaining an estimate of cassette pool size. Results indicated that the number of cassettes within a 5x10-m sample area was large and that the overall mobile cassette metagenome was likely to be orders of magnitude larger again. Accordingly, gene cassettes appear to be capable of mobilizing a significant genetic resource and consequently have a substantial impact on bacterial adaptability.
Adaptation, Physiological↗
New enzymes from environmental cassette arrays: functional attributes of a phosphotransferase and an RNA-methyltransferase.
By targeting gene cassettes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) directly from environmentally derived DNA, we are able to amplify entire open reading frames (ORFs) independently of prior sequence knowledge. Approximately 10% of the mobile genes recovered by these means can be attributed to known protein families. Here we describe the characterization of two ORFs which show moderate homology to known proteins: (1) an aminoglycoside phosphotransferase displaying 25% sequence identity with APH(7") from Streptomyces hygroscopicus, and (2) an RNA methyltransferase sharing 25%-28% identity with a group of recently defined bacterial RNA methyltransferases distinct from the SpoU enzyme family. Our novel genes were expressed as recombinant products and assayed for appropriate enzyme activity. The aminoglycoside phosphotransferase displayed ATPase activity, consistent with the presence of characteristic Mg(2+)-binding residues. Unlike related APH(4) or APH(7") enzymes, however, this activity was not enhanced by hygromycin B or kanamycin, suggesting the normal substrate to be a different aminoglycoside. The RNA methyltransferase contains sequence motifs of the RNA methyltransferase superfamily, and our recombinant version showed methyltransferase activity with RNA. Our data confirm that gene cassettes present in the environment encode folded enzymes with novel sequence variation and demonstrable catalytic activity. Our PCR approach (cassette PCR) may be used to identify a diverse range of ORFs from any environmental sample, as well as to directly access the gene pool found in mobile gene cassettes commonly associated with integrons. This gene pool can be accessed from both cultured and uncultured microbial samples as a source of new enzymes and proteins.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
The gene cassette metagenome is a basic resource for bacterial genome evolution.
Lateral gene transfer has been proposed as a fundamental process underlying bacterial diversity. Transposons, plasmids and phage are widespread and have been shown to significantly contribute to lateral gene transfer. However, the processes by which disparate genes are assembled and integrated into the host regulatory network to yield new phenotypes are poorly known. Recent discoveries about the integron/gene cassette system indicate it has the potential to play a role in this process. Gene cassettes are small mobile elements typically consisting of a promoterless orf and a recombination site. Integrons are capable of acquisition and re-arrangement of gene cassettes and of the expression of their associated genes. The potential of the integron/gene cassette system is thus largely determined by the diversity contained within the cassette pool and the rate at which integrons sample this pool. We show here using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) approach by which the environmental gene cassette (EGC) metagenome can be directly sampled that this metagenome contains both protein-coding and non-protein coding genes. Environmental gene cassette-associated recombination sites showed greater diversity than previously seen in integron arrays. Class 1 integrons were shown to be capable of accessing this gene pool through tests of recombinational activity with a representative range of EGCs. We propose that gene cassettes represent a vast, prepackaged genetic resource that could be thought of as a metagenomic template for bacterial evolution.
Base Sequence↗
Recombination activity of a distinctive integron-gene cassette system associated with Pseudomonas stutzeri populations in soil.
Class 1 integrons have strongly influenced the evolution of multiple antibiotic resistance. Diverse integrons have recently been detected directly in a range of natural environments. In order to characterize the properties of these environmental integrons, we sought to isolate organisms containing integrons from soils, which resulted in the isolation of Pseudomonas stutzeri strain Q. Further isolation efforts targeted at this species resulted in recovery of two other strains (P and BAM). 16S rRNA sequences and chromosome mapping showed that these three strains are very closely related clonal variants in a single genomovar of P. stutzeri. Only strains Q and BAM were found to contain an integron and an associated gene cassette array. The intI and attI components of these strains showed 99 and 90% identity, respectively. The structure of these integrons and their associated gene cassettes was similar to that reported previously for other integron classes. The two integrons contained nonoverlapping sets of cassette-associated genes. In contrast, many of the cassette-associated recombination sites in the two integrons were similar and were considered to constitute a distinct subfamily consisting of 59-base element (59-be) recombination sites (the Pseudomonas subfamily). The recombination activity of P. stutzeri integron components was tested in cointegrate assays. IntIPstQ was shown to catalyze site-specific recombination between its cognate attI site and 59-be sites from antibiotic resistance gene cassettes. While IntIPstQ did not efficiently mediate recombination between members of the Pseudomonas 59-be subfamily and other 59-be types, the former sites were functional when they were tested with IntI1. We concluded that integrons present in P. stutzeri possess recombination activity and represent a hot spot for genomic diversity in this species.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Detection of novel marine methanotrophs using phylogenetic and functional gene probes after methane enrichment.
A major limitation of rRNA-targeted group-specific probes is that they may cross-react with organisms of other physiological, or even phylogenetic groups when applied to environmental samples containing unknown sequences. We have exploited the restricted physiology of methane-oxidizing bacteria to assess the specificity and efficiency of probes for this physiological type which target the 16S rRNA or genes involved in methanotroph physiology. Seawater samples were enriched for methanotrophs by addition of methane and essential nutrients. The changes in composition of the bacterial population were monitored by analysis of 16S rRNA gene libraries. Methanotroph group-specific probes failed to give a signal with samples from these enrichments even though a methanol dehydrogenase structural gene was detected. A 16S rDNA sequence that was abundant only after methane addition was recovered and found to show a close phylogenetic relationship to Methylomonas. Organisms containing this sequence were observed in enrichments by in situ hybridization. The combination of enrichment on methane and screening with the broad specificity methanol dehydrogenase probe allowed detection of novel methanotrophs that were not detected with the original suite of methanotroph group-specific probes.
Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗