Open AccessOccurrence of Horizontal Gene Transfer of PIB-type ATPase Genes among Bacteria Isolated from the Uranium Rich Deposit of Domiasiat in North East India
Author(s) -
Macmillan gkhlaw,
Rakshak Kumar,
Celin Acharya,
S. R. Joshi
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0048199
Subject(s) - horizontal gene transfer , phylum , gene , biology , phylogenetic tree , bacteria , dna , environmental dna , genetics , zoology , ecology , biodiversity
Uranium (U) tolerant aerobic heterotrophs were isolated from the subsurface soils of one of the pre-mined U-rich deposits at Domiasiat located in the north-eastern part of India. On screening of genomic DNA from 62 isolates exhibiting superior U and heavy metal tolerance, 32 isolates were found to be positive for P IB -type ATPase genes. Phylogenetic incongruence and anomalous DNA base compositions revealed the acquisition of P IB -type ATPase genes by six isolates through horizontal gene transfer (HGT). Three of these instances of HGT appeared to have occurred at inter-phylum level and the other three instances indicated to have taken place at intra-phylum level. This study provides an insight into one of the possible survival strategies that bacteria might employ to adapt to environments rich in uranium and heavy metals.