Methylome evolution suggests lineage-dependent selection in the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori.

ABSTRACT: The bacterial pathogen Helicobacter pylori, the leading cause of gastric cancer, is genetically highly diverse and harbours a large and variable portfolio of restriction-modification systems. Our understanding of the evolution and function of DNA methylation in bacteria is limited. Here, we performed a comprehensive analysis of the methylome diversity in H. pylori, using a dataset of 541 genomes that included all known phylogeographic populations. The frequency of 96 methyltransferases and the abundance of their cognate recognition sequences were strongly influenced by phylogeographic structure and were inter-correlated, positively or negatively, for 20% of type II methyltransferases. Low density motifs were more likely to be affected by natural selection, as reflected by higher genomic in

SUBMITTER: Ailloud F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10423294 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature