title: pGIAK1, a heavy metal resistant plasmid from an obligate alkaliphilic and halotolerant bacterium isolated from the Antarctic Concordia station confined environment.
abstract: pGIAK1 is a 38-kb plasmid originating from the obligate alkaliphilic and halotolerant Bacillaceae strain JMAK1. The strain was originally isolated from the confined environments of the Antarctic Concordia station. Analysis of the pGIAK1 38,362-bp sequence revealed that, in addition to its replication region, this plasmid contains the genetic determinants for cadmium and arsenic resistances, putative methyltransferase, tyrosine recombinase, spore coat protein and potassium transport protein, as well as several hypothetical proteins. Cloning the pGIAK1 cad operon in Bacillus cereus H3081.97 and its ars operon in Bacillus subtilis 1A280 conferred to these hosts cadmium and arsenic resistances, respectively, therefore confirming their bona fide activities. The pGIAK1 replicon region was also shown to be functional in Bacillus thuringiensis, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus, but was only stably maintained in B. subtilis. Finally, using an Escherichia coli - B. thuringiensis shuttle BAC vector, pGIAK1 was shown to display conjugative properties since it was able to transfer the BAC plasmid among B. thuringiensis strains.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Food and Environmental Microbiology, Université Catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Suxia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mahillon
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D001149:Arsenates / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology; D001407:Bacillus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D001482:Base Composition; D002104:Cadmium / Q000378:metabolism; D003227:Conjugation, Genetic; D004261:DNA Replication; D023061:Gene Order; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000378:metabolism; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010957:Plasmids / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D012329:RNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D012093:Replicon; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D001149:Arsenates; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D012329:RNA, Bacterial; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D002104:Cadmium; C025657:arsenic acid