Genome sequence of Bartonella birtlesii, a bacterium isolated from small rodents of the genus Apodemus

Partial disruption of translational and posttranslational machinery reshapes growth rates of Bartonella birtlesii

Specialization of bacteria in a new niche is associated with genome repertoire changes, and speciation in bacterial specialists is associated with genome reduction. Here, we tested a signature-tagged mutant library of 3,456 Bartonella birtlesii clones to detect mutants that could grow rapidly in vitro. Overall, we found 124 mutants that grew faster than the parental wild-type strain in vitro. We sequenced the genomes of the four mutants with the most rapid growth (formed visible colonies in only 1 to 2 days compared with 5 days for the wild type) and compared them to the parental isolate genome. We found that the number of disrupted genes associated with translation in the 124 rapid-growth clones was significantly higher than the number of genes involved in translation in the full genome (P < 10⁻⁶). Analysis of transposon integration in the genome of the four most rapidly growing clones revealed that one clone lacked one of the two wild-type RNA ribosomal operons. Finally, one of the four clones did not induce bacteremia in our mouse model, whereas infection with the other three resulted in a significantly lower bacterial count in blood than that with the wild-type strain.

Here, we show that specialization in a specific niche could be caused by the disruption of critical genes. Most of these genes were involved in translation, and we show that evolution of obligate parasitism bacteria was specifically associated with disruption of translation system-encoding genes.

Genome sequences published outside of Standards in Genomic Sciences, October - November 2012

The purpose of this table is to provide the community with a citable record of publications of ongoing genome sequencing projects that have led to a publication in the scientific literature. While our goal is to make the list complete, there is no guarantee that we may have omitted one or more publications appearing in this time frame. Readers and authors who wish to have publications added to subsequent versions of this list are invited to provide the bibliographic data for such references to the SIGS editorial office.

Genome sequences published outside of Standards in Genomic Sciences, July - October 2012

The purpose of this table is to provide the community with a citable record of publications of ongoing genome sequencing projects that have led to a publication in the scientific literature. While our goal is to make the list complete, there is no guarantee that we may have omitted one or more publications appearing in this time frame. Readers and authors who wish to have publications added to subsequent versions of this list are invited to provide the bibliographic data for such references to the SIGS editorial office.