Crucial role for insertion sequence elements in Lactobacillus helveticus evolution as revealed by interstrain genomic comparison

Appl Environ Microbiol. 2010 Jan;76(1):212-20. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01845-09. Epub 2009 Oct 30.

Abstract

Lactobacillus helveticus is a versatile dairy bacterium found to possess heterogeneous genotypes depending on the ecosystem from which it was isolated. The recently published genome sequence showed the remarkable flexibility of its structure, demonstrated by a substantial level of insertion sequence (IS) element expansion in association with massive gene decay. To assess this diversity and examine the level of genome plasticity within the L. helveticus species, an array-based comparative genome hybridization (aCGH) experiment was designed in which 10 strains were analyzed. The aCGH experiment revealed 16 clusters of open reading frames (ORFs) flanked by IS elements. Four of these ORFs are associated with restriction/modification which may have played a role in accelerated evolution of strains in a commercially intensive ecosystem undoubtedly challenged through successive phage attack. Furthermore, analysis of the IS-flanked clusters demonstrated that the most frequently encountered ISs were also those most abundant in the genome (IS1201, ISL2, ISLhe1, ISLhe2, ISLhe65, and ISLhe63). These findings contribute to the overall viewpoint of the versatile character of IS elements and the role they may play in bacterial genome plasticity.

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Comparative Genomic Hybridization / methods
  • DNA Restriction-Modification Enzymes / genetics
  • DNA Transposable Elements*
  • Evolution, Molecular*
  • Genome, Bacterial*
  • Genomics*
  • Lactobacillus helveticus / genetics*
  • Multigene Family

Substances

  • DNA Restriction-Modification Enzymes
  • DNA Transposable Elements

Associated data

  • GEO/GSE16553