title: The complete sequence and analysis of the large virulence plasmid pSS of Shigella sonnei.
abstract: The complete sequence of pSS, which is the large virulence plasmid of Shigella sonnei, was determined. The 214-kb plasmid is composed of segments of virulence-associated genes, the O-antigen gene clusters, a range of replication and maintenance genes, and large numbers of insertion sequence (IS) elements. Two hundred and forty-one open reading frames (ORFs) were identified, of which 117 are highly homologous to IS elements or transposases, 57 are homologous to known pathogenesis-associated proteins, and 30 are related to replication, plasmid maintenance, or other metabolic functions. Thirty-seven ORFs have no similarity to proteins with a known function, including two with no significant similarity to any hypothetical proteins. Interestingly, 10 ORFs encoding O-antigen gene clusters were identified on the plasmid and this is markedly different from most other Shigella spp. virulent plasmids. A novel toxin-antitoxin system, a series of stbDE homologs, was found on the plasmid immediately downstream of the replication region; the sole segregation stability system may be responsible for the instability of pSS. The pSS plasmid is a mixture of genes with different origins and functions. The sequence suggests a remarkable history of IS-mediated recombination and acquisition of DNA across a range of bacterial species.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Molecular Virology and Genetic Engineering, 6 Rongjing Eastern Street, BDA Beijing 100176, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xiaobing
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Lihong
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yongliang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Xiong
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.forename: Xingye
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: Yafang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Shuxia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jin
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001482:Base Composition; D019915:DNA Primase; D004261:DNA Replication / Q000235:genetics; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000235:genetics; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases / Q000235:genetics; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D019081:O Antigens / Q000235:genetics; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D017421:Sequence Analysis; D012764:Shigella sonnei / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D019081:O Antigens; C052883:chromosome partition proteins, bacterial; D019915:DNA Primase; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; D004706:Endodeoxyribonucleases; D005090:Exodeoxyribonucleases; C121791:dnaG protein, E coli