title: Detection and organization of atrazine-degrading genetic potential of seventeen bacterial isolates belonging to divergent taxa indicate a recent common origin of their catabolic functions.
abstract: A collection of 17 atrazine-degrading bacteria isolated from soils was studied to determine the composition of the atrazine-degrading genetic potential (i.e. trzN, trzD and atz) and the presence of IS1071. The characterization of seven new atrazine-degrading bacteria revealed for the first time the trzN-atzBC gene composition in Gram-negative bacteria such as Sinorhizobium sp. or Polaromonas sp. Three main atrazine-degrading gene combinations (i) trzN-atzBC, (ii) atzABC-trzD and (iii) atzABCDEF were observed. The atz and trz genes were often located on plasmids, suggesting that plasmid conjugation could play an important role in their dispersion. In addition, the observation of these genes (i) on the chromosome, (ii) on the same DNA fragment but on different plasmids and (iii) on DNA fragments also hybridizing with IS1071 suggests that transposition may also contribute to disperse the atrazine-degrading genes.
authors.affiliation: UMR1229 Microbiologie du Sol et de l'Environnement, INRA-Université de Bourgogne, CMSE, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Marion
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Devers
authors.forename: Najoi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: El Azhari
authors.forename: Nikolina-Udikovic
authors.initials: NU
authors.lastname: Kolic
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Martin-Laurent
mesh_terms: D001280:Atrazine / Q000378:metabolism*; D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism; D053858:Metabolic Networks and Pathways / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D012988:Soil Microbiology
chemical_list: D004251:DNA Transposable Elements; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D001280:Atrazine