title: ICEEc2, a new integrative and conjugative element belonging to the pKLC102/PAGI-2 family, identified in Escherichia coli strain BEN374.
abstract: The diversity of the Escherichia coli species is in part due to the large number of mobile genetic elements that are exchanged between strains. We report here the identification of a new integrative and conjugative element (ICE) of the pKLC102/PAGI-2 family located downstream of the tRNA gene pheU in the E. coli strain BEN374. Indeed, this new region, which we called ICEEc2, can be transferred by conjugation from strain BEN374 to the E. coli strain C600. We were also able to transfer this region into a Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium strain and into a Yersinia pseudotuberculosis strain. This transfer was then followed by the integration of ICEEc2 into the host chromosome downstream of a phe tRNA gene. Our data indicated that this transfer involved a set of three genes encoding DNA mobility enzymes and a type IV pilus encoded by genes present on ICEEc2. Given the wide distribution of members of this family, these mobile genetic elements are likely to play an important role in the diversification of bacteria.
authors.affiliation: CEA/DSV/IG/Genoscope-CNRS UMR8030, Laboratoire de Génomique Comparative, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91057 Evry Cedex, France.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Roche
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fléchard
authors.forename: Nathalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lallier
authors.forename: Maryline
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Répérant
authors.forename: Annie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Brée
authors.forename: Géraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pascal
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schouler
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Germon
mesh_terms: D003227:Conjugation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D003360:Cosmids / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics*; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics; D044404:Genomic Islands / Q000235:genetics; D020071:Interspersed Repetitive Sequences / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016366:Open Reading Frames / Q000235:genetics; D010802:Phylogeny; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000235:genetics; D015011:Yersinia pseudotuberculosis / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins