Mosaic plasmids are abundant and unevenly distributed across prokaryotic taxa

Plasmid
Mitchell W PeseskyDavid A C Beck

Abstract

Mosaic plasmids, plasmids composed of genetic elements from distinct sources, are associated with the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. Transposons are considered the primary mechanism for mosaic plasmid formation, though other mechanisms have been observed in specific instances. The frequency with which mosaic plasmids have been described suggests they may play an important role in plasmid population dynamics. Our survey of the confirmed plasmid sequences available from complete and draft genomes in the RefSeq database shows that 46% of them fit a strict definition of mosaic. Mosaic plasmids are also not evenly distributed over the taxa represented in the database. Plasmids from some genera, including Piscirickettsia and Yersinia, are almost all mosaic, while plasmids from other genera, including Borrelia, are rarely mosaic. While some mosaic plasmids share identical regions with hundreds of others, the median mosaic plasmid only shares with 8 other plasmids. When considering only plasmids from finished genomes (51.6% of the total), mosaic plasmids have significantly higher proportions of transposase and antibiotic resistance genes. Conversely, only 56.6% of mosaic fragments (DNA fragments shared between mosaic plasmids) ...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 6, 2020·Frontiers in Microbiology·Nils F HülterTal Dagan
Jul 7, 2020·Frontiers in Microbiology·Abraham D Salgado-CamargoMiguel A Cevallos
Jan 21, 2021·Nature Reviews. Microbiology·Jerónimo Rodríguez-BeltránÁlvaro San Millán
Nov 3, 2020·Frontiers in Microbiology·Elizabeth A McMillanJonathan G Frye
Feb 24, 2021·Microbial Genomics·Sergio Mascarenhas Morgado, Ana Carolina Paulo Vicente
Jul 1, 2021·Clinical Microbiology Reviews·F BaqueroT M Coque
Aug 28, 2021·Microorganisms·Julian A PaganiniAnita C Schürch
Sep 23, 2021·Molecular Biology and Evolution·Ana GaroñaTal Dagan
Nov 30, 2021·Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences·James P J HallDavid A Baltrus

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