Genomic features and insights into the biology of Mycoplasma fermentans.
We present the complete genomic sequence of Mycoplasma fermentans, an organism suggested to be associated with the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis in humans. The genome is composed of 977,524 bp and has a mean G+C content of 26.95 mol%. There are 835 predicted protein-coding sequences and a mean coding density of 87.6 %. Functions have been assigned to 58.8 % of the predicted protein-coding sequences, while 18.4 % of the proteins are conserved hypothetical proteins and 22.8 % are hypothetical proteins. In addition, there are two complete rRNA operons and 36 tRNA coding sequences. The largest gene families are the ABC transporter family (42 members), and the functionally heterogeneous group of lipoproteins (28 members), which encode the characteristic prokaryotic cysteine 'lipobox'. Protein secretion occurs through a pathway consisting of SecA, SecD, SecE, SecG, SecY and YidC. Some highly conserved eubacterial proteins, such as GroEL and GroES, are notably absent. The genes encoding DnaK-DnaJ-GrpE and Tig, forming the putative complex of chaperones, are intact, providing the only known control over protein folding. Eighteen nucleases and 17 proteases and peptidases were detected as well as three genes for the thioredoxin-thioreductase system. Overall, this study presents insights into the physiology of M. fermentans, and provides several examples of the genetic basis of systems that might function as virulence factors in this organism.
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
Hagai
H
Rechnitzer
Göttingen Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Elzbieta
E
Brzuszkiewicz
Eurofins MWG Operon, 85560 Ebersberg, Germany.
Axel
A
Strittmatter
Göttingen Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Heiko
H
Liesegang
Division of Avian and Aquatic Diseases, Kimron Veterinary Institute, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Inna
I
Lysnyansky
Göttingen Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Rolf
R
Daniel
Göttingen Genomics Laboratory, Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Georg-August-Universität, 37077 Göttingen, Germany.
Gerhard
G
Gottschalk
Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
Shlomo
S
Rottem
D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D001482:Base Composition; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000032:analysis / Q000235:genetics; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D016680:Genome, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D016858:Mycoplasma fermentans / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics*
D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D037521:Virulence Factors