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Dewan I, Uecker H. A mathematician's guide to plasmids: an introduction to plasmid biology for modellers. MICROBIOLOGY (READING, ENGLAND) 2023; 169:001362. [PMID: 37505810 PMCID: PMC10433428 DOI: 10.1099/mic.0.001362] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Plasmids, extrachromosomal DNA molecules commonly found in bacterial and archaeal cells, play an important role in bacterial genetics and evolution. Our understanding of plasmid biology has been furthered greatly by the development of mathematical models, and there are many questions about plasmids that models would be useful in answering. In this review, we present an introductory, yet comprehensive, overview of the biology of plasmids suitable for modellers unfamiliar with plasmids who want to get up to speed and to begin working on plasmid-related models. In addition to reviewing the diversity of plasmids and the genes they carry, their key physiological functions, and interactions between plasmid and host, we also highlight selected plasmid topics that may be of particular interest to modellers and areas where there is a particular need for theoretical development. The world of plasmids holds a great variety of subjects that will interest mathematical biologists, and introducing new modellers to the subject will help to expand the existing body of plasmid theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Dewan
- Research Group Stochastic Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Theoretical Biology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Hildegard Uecker
- Research Group Stochastic Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Theoretical Biology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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2
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Luchetti A, Castellani LG, Toscani AM, Lagares A, Del Papa MF, Torres Tejerizo G, Pistorio M. Characterization of an accessory plasmid of Sinorhizobium meliloti and its two replication-modules. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0285505. [PMID: 37200389 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285505] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Rhizobia are Gram-negative bacteria known for their ability to fix atmospheric N2 in symbiosis with leguminous plants. Current evidence shows that rhizobia carry in most cases a variable number of plasmids, containing genes necessary for symbiosis or free-living, a common feature being the presence of several plasmid replicons within the same strain. For many years, we have been studying the mobilization properties of pSmeLPU88b from the strain Sinorhizobium meliloti LPU88, an isolate from Argentina. To advance in the characterization of pSmeLPU88b plasmid, the full sequence was obtained. pSmeLPU88b is 35.9 kb in size, had an average GC % of 58.6 and 31 CDS. Two replication modules were identified in silico: one belonging to the repABC type, and the other to the repC. The replication modules presented high DNA identity to the replication modules from plasmid pMBA9a present in an S. meliloti isolate from Canada. In addition, three CDS presenting identity with recombinases and with toxin-antitoxin systems were found downstream of the repABC system. It is noteworthy that these CDS present the same genetic structure in pSmeLPU88b and in other rhizobial plasmids. Moreover, in all cases they are found downstream of the repABC operon. By cloning each replication system in suicide plasmids, we demonstrated that each of them can support plasmid replication in the S. meliloti genetic background, but with different stability behavior. Interestingly, while incompatibility analysis of the cloned rep systems results in the loss of the parental module, both obtained plasmids can coexist together.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abril Luchetti
- Proteome and Metabolome Research, Faculty of Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Lucas G Castellani
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Andrés Martin Toscani
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Antonio Lagares
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - María Florencia Del Papa
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Gonzalo Torres Tejerizo
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
| | - Mariano Pistorio
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, IBBM (Instituto de Biotecnología y Biología Molecular), CCT-CONICET-La Plata, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina
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3
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Fuli X, Wenlong Z, Xiao W, Jing Z, Baohai H, Zhengzheng Z, Bin-Guang M, Youguo L. A Genome-Wide Prediction and Identification of Intergenic Small RNAs by Comparative Analysis in Mesorhizobium huakuii 7653R. Front Microbiol 2017; 8:1730. [PMID: 28943874 PMCID: PMC5596092 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2017.01730] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
In bacteria, small non-coding RNAs (sRNAs) are critical regulators of cellular adaptation to changes in metabolism, physiology, or the external environment. In the last decade, more than 2000 of sRNA families have been reported in the Rfam database and have been shown to exert various regulatory functions in bacterial transcription and translation. However, little is known about sRNAs and their functions in Mesorhizobium. Here, we predicted putative sRNAs in the intergenic regions (IGRs) of M. huakuii 7653R by genome-wide comparisons with four related Mesorhizobial strains. The expression and transcribed regions of candidate sRNAs were analyzed using a set of high-throughput RNA deep sequencing data. In all, 39 candidate sRNAs were found, with 5 located in the symbiotic megaplasmids and 34 in the chromosome of M. huakuii 7653R. Of these, 24 were annotated as functional sRNAs in the Rfam database and 15 were recognized as putative novel sRNAs. The expression of nine selected sRNAs was confirmed by Northern blotting, and most of the nine selected sRNAs were highly expressed in 28 dpi nodules and under symbiosis-mimicking conditions. For those putative novel sRNAs, functional categorizations of their target genes were performed by analyzing the enriched GO terms. In addition, MH_s15 was shown to be an abundant and conserved sRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xie Fuli
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Zhao Wenlong
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Wang Xiao
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Zhang Jing
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Hao Baohai
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Zou Zhengzheng
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Ma Bin-Guang
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
| | - Li Youguo
- State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Microbiology, Huazhong Agricultural UniversityWuhan, China
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4
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Jiang X, Liu X, Law COK, Wang Y, Lo WU, Weng X, Chan TF, Ho PL, Lau TCK. The CTX-M-14 plasmid pHK01 encodes novel small RNAs and influences host growth and motility. FEMS Microbiol Ecol 2017; 93:3940222. [DOI: 10.1093/femsec/fix090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2017] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Xinlei Jiang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Xuan Liu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Carmen O. K. Law
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Ya Wang
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Wai U Lo
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Xing Weng
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Ting Fung Chan
- School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - P. L. Ho
- Department of Microbiology, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
| | - Terrence C. K. Lau
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
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Döhlemann J, Wagner M, Happel C, Carrillo M, Sobetzko P, Erb TJ, Thanbichler M, Becker A. A Family of Single Copy repABC-Type Shuttle Vectors Stably Maintained in the Alpha-Proteobacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti. ACS Synth Biol 2017; 6:968-984. [PMID: 28264559 PMCID: PMC7610768 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.6b00320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
![]()
A considerable
share of bacterial species maintains segmented genomes.
Plant symbiotic α-proteobacterial rhizobia contain up to six repABC-type replicons in addition to the primary chromosome.
These low or unit-copy replicons, classified as secondary chromosomes,
chromids, or megaplasmids, are exclusively found in α-proteobacteria.
Replication and faithful partitioning of these replicons to the daughter
cells is mediated by the repABC region. The importance
of α-rhizobial symbiotic nitrogen fixation for sustainable agriculture
and Agrobacterium-mediated plant transformation as
a tool in plant sciences has increasingly moved biological engineering
of these organisms into focus. Plasmids are ideal DNA-carrying vectors
for these engineering efforts. On the basis of repABC regions collected from α-rhizobial secondary replicons, and
origins of replication derived from traditional cloning vectors, we
devised the versatile family of pABC shuttle vectors propagating in Sinorhizobium meliloti, related members of the Rhizobiales, and Escherichia coli. A modular plasmid library
providing the elemental parts for pABC vector assembly was founded.
The standardized design of these vectors involves five basic modules:
(1) repABC cassette, (2) plasmid-derived origin of
replication, (3) RK2/RP4 mobilization site (optional), (4) antibiotic
resistance gene, and (5) multiple cloning site flanked by transcription
terminators. In S. meliloti, pABC vectors showed
high propagation stability and unit-copy number. We demonstrated stable
coexistence of three pABC vectors in addition to the two indigenous
megaplasmids in S. meliloti, suggesting combinability
of multiple compatible pABC plasmids. We further devised an in vivo cloning strategy involving Cre/lox-mediated translocation of large DNA fragments to an autonomously
replicating repABC-based vector, followed by conjugation-mediated
transfer either to compatible rhizobia or E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Döhlemann
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Marcel Wagner
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Carina Happel
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Martina Carrillo
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Biochemistry and Synthetic Biology of Microbial Metabolism Group, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Patrick Sobetzko
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Tobias J. Erb
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Biochemistry and Synthetic Biology of Microbial Metabolism Group, Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Martin Thanbichler
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35043, Germany
| | - Anke Becker
- LOEWE Center for Synthetic Microbiology, Marburg, 35043, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg, 35043, Germany
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Żebracki K, Koper P, Marczak M, Skorupska A, Mazur A. Plasmid-Encoded RepA Proteins Specifically Autorepress Individual repABC Operons in the Multipartite Rhizobium leguminosarum bv. trifolii Genome. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0131907. [PMID: 26147968 PMCID: PMC4492784 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2015] [Accepted: 06/08/2015] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Rhizobia commonly have very complex genomes with a chromosome and several large plasmids that possess genes belonging to the repABC family. RepA and RepB are members of the ParA and ParB families of partitioning proteins, respectively, whereas RepC is crucial for plasmid replication. In the repABC replicons, partitioning and replication functions are transcriptionally linked resulting in complex regulation of rep gene expression. The genome of R. leguminosarum bv. trifolii TA1 (RtTA1) consists of a chromosome and four plasmids (pRleTA1a-d), equipped with functional repABC genes. In this work, the regulation of transcription of the individual repABC cassettes of the four RtTA1 plasmids was studied. The involvement of the RepA and RepB as well as parS-like centromere sites in this process was depicted, demonstrating some dissimilarity in expression of respective rep regions. RtTA1 repABC genes of individual plasmids formed operons, which were negatively regulated by RepA and RepB. Individual RepA were able to bind to DNA without added nucleotides, but in the presence of ADP, bound specifically to their own operator sequences containing imperfect palindromes, and caused operon autorepression, whereas the addition of ATP stimulated non-specific binding of RepA to DNA. The RepA proteins were able to dimerize/oligomerize: in general dimers formed independently of ATP or ADP, although ATP diminished the concentration of oligomers that were produced. By the comprehensive approach focusing on a set of plasmids instead of individual replicons, the work highlighted subtle differences between the organization and regulation of particular rep operons as well as the structures and specificity of RepA proteins, which contribute to the fine-tuned coexistence of several replicons with similar repABC cassettes in the complex bacterial genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamil Żebracki
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
| | - Piotr Koper
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
| | - Małgorzata Marczak
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
| | - Anna Skorupska
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
| | - Andrzej Mazur
- Department of Genetics and Microbiology, Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, Faculty of Biology and Biotechnology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Lublin, Poland
- * E-mail:
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