title: Cloning and analysis of a large plasmid pBMB165 from Bacillus thuringiensis revealed a novel plasmid organization.
abstract: In this study, we report a rapid cloning strategy for large native plasmids via a contig linkage map by BAC libraries. Using this method, we cloned a large plasmid pBMB165 from Bacillus thuringiensis serovar tenebrionis strain YBT-1765. Complete sequencing showed that pBMB165 is 77,627 bp long with a GC-content of 35.36%, and contains 103 open reading frames (ORFs). Sequence analysis and comparison reveals that pBMB165 represents a novel plasmid organization: it mainly consists of a pXO2-like replicon and mobile genetic elements (an inducible prophage BMBTP3 and a set of transposable elements). This is the first description of this plasmid organization pattern, which may result from recombination events among the plasmid replicon, prophage and transposable elements. This plasmid organization reveals that the prophage BMBTP3 may use the plasmid replicon to maintain its genetic stability. Our results provide a new approach to understanding co-evolution between bacterial plasmids and bacteriophage.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, College of Life Science and Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, People's Republic of China.
authors: Yueying
authors: Y
authors: Wang
authors: Donghai
authors: D
authors: Peng
authors: Zhaoxia
authors: Z
authors: Dong
authors: Lei
authors: L
authors: Zhu
authors: Suxia
authors: S
authors: Guo
authors: Ming
authors: M
authors: Sun
mesh_terms: D001413:Bacillus thuringiensis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000821:virology; D002874:Chromosome Mapping; D022202:Chromosomes, Artificial, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics*; D039002:Prophages / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA