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Independent acquisition and insertion into different chromosomal locations of the same pathogenicity island in Yersinia pestis and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
Author(s) -
Hare Janelle M.,
Wagner Alexandra K.,
McDonough Kathleen A.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
molecular microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.857
H-Index - 247
eISSN - 1365-2958
pISSN - 0950-382X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2958.1999.01172.x
Subject(s) - yersinia pseudotuberculosis , yersinia pestis , biology , pathogenicity island , virulence , genetics , integrase , locus (genetics) , gene , pathogenicity , genomic island , microbiology and biotechnology , virology
We show that Yersinia pestis and pesticin‐sensitive isolates of Y. pseudotuberculosis possess a common 34 kbp DNA region that has all the hallmarks of a pathogenicity island and is inserted into different asparaginyl tRNA genes at different chromosomal locations in each species. This pathogenicity island (YP‐HPI) is marked by IS 100 , has a G + C content different from its host, is flanked by 24 bp direct repeats, encodes a putative, P4‐like integrase and contains the iron uptake virulence genes from the pgm locus of Y. pestis . These findings indicate independent horizontal acquisition of this island by Y. pestis and Y. pseudotuberculosis . The two YP‐HPI locations and their possession of an integrase gene support a model of site‐specific integration of the YP‐HPI into these bacteria.