title: Lateral gene transfer of O1 serogroup encoding genes of Vibrio cholerae.
abstract: In Gram-negative bacteria, the O-antigen-encoding genes may be transferred between lineages, although mechanisms are not fully understood. To assess possible lateral gene transfer (LGT), 21 Argentinean Vibrio cholerae O-group 1 (O1) isolates were examined using multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to determine the genetic relatedness of housekeeping genes and genes from the O1 gene cluster. MSLT analysis revealed that 4.4% of the nucleotides in the seven housekeeping loci were variable, with six distinct genetic lineages identified among O1 isolates. In contrast, MLST analysis of the eight loci from the O1 serogroup region revealed that 0.24% of the 4943 nucleotides were variable. A putative breakpoint was identified in the JUMPstart sequence. Nine conserved nucleotides differed by a single nucleotide from a DNA uptake signal sequence (USS) also found in Pastuerellaceae. Our data indicate that genes in the O1 biogenesis region are closely related even in distinct genetic lineages, indicative of LGT, with a putative DNA USS identified at the defined boundary for the DNA exchange.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Infecciosas-ANLIS Carlos G. Malbrán, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Sol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: González-Fraga
authors.forename: Mariana
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pichel
authors.forename: Norma
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Binsztein
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: John Glenn
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Oscar Colin
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Stine
mesh_terms: D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002771:Cholera / Q000382:microbiology*; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D008040:Genetic Linkage; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D005810:Multigene Family; D019081:O Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D019081:O Antigens