Whole-genome sequence of Listeria welshimeri reveals common steps in genome reduction with Listeria innocua as compared to Listeria monocytogenes.
We present the complete genome sequence of Listeria welshimeri, a nonpathogenic member of the genus Listeria. Listeria welshimeri harbors a circular chromosome of 2,814,130 bp with 2,780 open reading frames. Comparative genomic analysis of chromosomal regions between L. welshimeri, Listeria innocua, and Listeria monocytogenes shows strong overall conservation of synteny, with the exception of the translocation of an F(o)F(1) ATP synthase. The smaller size of the L. welshimeri genome is the result of deletions in all of the genes involved in virulence and of "fitness" genes required for intracellular survival, transcription factors, and LPXTG- and LRR-containing proteins as well as 55 genes involved in carbohydrate transport and metabolism. In total, 482 genes are absent from L. welshimeri relative to L. monocytogenes. Of these, 249 deletions are commonly absent in both L. welshimeri and L. innocua, suggesting similar genome evolutionary paths from an ancestor. We also identified 311 genes specific to L. welshimeri that are absent in the other two species, indicating gene expansion in L. welshimeri, including horizontal gene transfer. The species L. welshimeri appears to have been derived from early evolutionary events and an ancestor more compact than L. monocytogenes that led to the emergence of nonpathogenic Listeria spp.
Hain
Torsten
T
Institute for Medical Microbiology, Justus-Liebig-University, Frankfurter Strasse 107, D-35392 Giessen, Germany.
Steinweg
Christiane
C
Kuenne
Carsten Tobias
CT
Billion
André
A
Ghai
Rohit
R
Chatterjee
Som Subhra
SS
Domann
Eugen
E
Kärst
Uwe
U
Goesmann
Alexander
A
Bekel
Thomas
T
Bartels
Daniela
D
Kaiser
Olaf
O
Meyer
Folker
F
Pühler
Alfred
A
Weisshaar
Bernd
B
Wehland
Jürgen
J
Liang
Chunguang
C
Dandekar
Thomas
T
Lampidis
Robert
R
Kreft
Jürgen
J
Goebel
Werner
W
Chakraborty
Trinad
T
D002876:Chromosomes, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D017353:Gene Deletion; D023061:Gene Order; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008087:Listeria / Q000235:genetics*; D008089:Listeria monocytogenes / Q000235:genetics; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases / Q000235:genetics; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames; D010802:Phylogeny; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D026801:Synteny; D014178:Translocation, Genetic
D004269:DNA, Bacterial; C474451:F1F0-ATP synthase; D025261:Mitochondrial Proton-Translocating ATPases