title: Analysis of the complete genomes of Acholeplasma brassicae, A. palmae and A. laidlawii and their comparison to the obligate parasites from 'Candidatus Phytoplasma'.
abstract: Analysis of the completely determined genomes of the plant-derived Acholeplasma brassicae strain O502 and A. palmae strain J233 revealed that the circular chromosomes are 1,877,792 and 1,554,229 bp in size, have a G + C content of 36 and 29%, and encode 1,690 and 1,439 proteins, respectively. Comparative analysis of these sequences and previously published genomes of A. laidlawii strain PG-8, 'Candidatus Phytoplasma asteris' strains, 'Ca. P. australiense' and 'Ca. P. mali' show a limited shared basic genetic repertoire. The acholeplasma genomes are characterized by a low number of rearrangements, duplication and integration events. Exceptions are the unusual duplication of rRNA operons in A. brassicae and an independently introduced second gene for a single-stranded binding protein in both genera. In contrast to phytoplasmas, the acholeplasma genomes differ by encoding the cell division protein FtsZ, a wide variety of ABC transporters, the F0F1 ATP synthase, the Rnf-complex, SecG of the Sec-dependent secretion system, a richly equipped repertoire for carbohydrate metabolism, fatty acid, isoprenoid and partial amino acid metabolism. Conserved metabolic proteins encoded in phytoplasma genomes such as the malate dehydrogenase SfcA, several transporters and proteins involved in host-interaction, and virulence-associated effectors were not predicted for the acholeplasmas.
authors.affiliation: Division Phytomedicine, Department of Crop and Animal Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kube
authors.forename: Christin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Siewert
authors.forename: Alexander M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Migdoll
authors.forename: Bojan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Duduk
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Holz
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rabus
authors.forename: Erich
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Seemüller
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mitrovic
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Büttner
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reinhardt
mesh_terms: D000129:Acholeplasmataceae / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001482:Base Composition; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics*; D023061:Gene Order; D016680:Genome, Bacterial; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D045582:Phytoplasma / Q000235:genetics; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D026801:Synteny
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004269:DNA, Bacterial