title: Metaproteomics reveals abundant transposase expression in mutualistic endosymbionts.
abstract: Transposases, enzymes that catalyze the movement of mobile genetic elements, are the most abundant genes in nature. While many bacteria encode an abundance of transposases in their genomes, the current paradigm is that the expression of transposase genes is tightly regulated and generally low due to its severe mutagenic effects. In the current study, we detected the highest number of transposase proteins ever reported in bacteria, in symbionts of the gutless marine worm Olavius algarvensis with metaproteomics. At least 26 different transposases from 12 different families were detected, and genomic and proteomic analyses suggest that many of these are active. This high expression of transposases indicates that the mechanisms for their tight regulation have been disabled or no longer exist.
authors.affiliation: Symbiosis Group, Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany. mkleiner@mpi-bremen.de
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kleiner
authors.forename: Jacque C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Manesh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shah
authors.forename: Nathan C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: VerBerkmoes
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dubilier
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001419:Bacteria / Q000201:enzymology*; D018407:Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D015870:Gene Expression; D056186:Metagenomics / Q000379:methods; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000382:microbiology*; D020543:Proteome / Q000032:analysis*; D040901:Proteomics / Q000379:methods; D013559:Symbiosis; D019895:Transposases / Q000096:biosynthesis*
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D020543:Proteome; D019895:Transposases