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ICETh1 and ICETh2, two interdependent mobile genetic elements in Thermus thermophilus transjugation
Author(s) -
Baquedano Ignacio,
Mencía Mario,
Blesa Alba,
Burrus Vincent,
Berenguerfi José
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.954
H-Index - 188
eISSN - 1462-2920
pISSN - 1462-2912
DOI - 10.1111/1462-2920.14833
Subject(s) - thermus thermophilus , biology , mobile genetic elements , genetics , horizontal gene transfer , computational biology , dna , gene , genome , escherichia coli , plasmid
Summary Cell to cell DNA transfer between Thermus thermophilus , or transjugation, requires the natural competence apparatus (NCA) of the recipient cell and a DNA donation machinery in the donor. In T . thermophilus HB27, two mobile genetic elements with functional similarities to Integrative and Conjugative Elements (ICEs) coexist, ICETh1 encoding the DNA transfer apparatus and ICETh2, encoding a putative replication module. Here, we demonstrate that excision and integration of both elements depend on a single tyrosine recombinase encoded by ICETh2, and that excision is not required but improves the transfer of these elements to a recipient cell. These findings along with previous results suggest that ICETh1 and ICETh2 depend on each other for spreading among T . thermophilus by transjugation.