title: A genomic island integrated into recA of Vibrio cholerae contains a divergent recA and provides multi-pathway protection from DNA damage.
abstract: Lateral gene transfer (LGT) has been crucial in the evolution of the cholera pathogen, Vibrio cholerae. The two major virulence factors are present on two different mobile genetic elements, a bacteriophage containing the cholera toxin genes and a genomic island (GI) containing the intestinal adhesin genes. Non-toxigenic V. cholerae in the aquatic environment are a major source of novel DNA that allows the pathogen to morph via LGT. In this study, we report a novel GI from a non-toxigenic V. cholerae strain containing multiple genes involved in DNA repair including the recombination repair gene recA that is 23% divergent from the indigenous recA and genes involved in the translesion synthesis pathway. This is the first report of a GI containing the critical gene recA and the first report of a GI that targets insertion into a specific site within recA. We show that possession of the island in Escherichia coli is protective against DNA damage induced by UV-irradiation and DNA targeting antibiotics. This study highlights the importance of genetic elements such as GIs in the evolution of V. cholerae and emphasizes the importance of environmental strains as a source of novel DNA that can influence the pathogenicity of toxigenic strains.
authors.affiliation: ithree Institute, University of Technology, PO Box 123 Broadway, Sydney, NSW, 2007, Australia; Department of Medical and Molecular Biosciences, University of Technology, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: Rita A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Rapa
authors.forename: Atiqul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Islam
authors.forename: Leigh G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Monahan
authors.forename: Ankur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mutreja
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Thomson
authors.forename: Ian G
authors.initials: IG
authors.lastname: Charles
authors.forename: Harold W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Stokes
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Labbate
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D001422:Bacterial Adhesion / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D002771:Cholera / Q000382:microbiology*; D002772:Cholera Toxin / Q000235:genetics; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000235:genetics / Q000528:radiation effects*; D004260:DNA Repair / Q000235:genetics*; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase / Q000235:genetics; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D022761:Gene Transfer, Horizontal; D044404:Genomic Islands / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics*; D011995:Recombination, Genetic; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D037521:Virulence Factors; D002772:Cholera Toxin; D011938:Rec A Recombinases; C120926:DNA polymerase V, E coli; D004259:DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase