Large-scale duplication events underpin population-level flexibility in tRNA gene copy number in Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25.

ABSTRACT: The complement of tRNA genes within a genome is typically considered to be a (relatively) stable characteristic of an organism. Here, we demonstrate that bacterial tRNA gene set composition can be more flexible than previously appreciated, particularly regarding tRNA gene copy number. We report the high-rate occurrence of spontaneous, large-scale, tandem duplication events in laboratory populations of the bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens SBW25. The identified duplications are up to ∼1 Mb in size (∼15% of the wildtype genome) and are predicted to change the copy number of up to 917 genes, including several tRNA genes. The observed duplications are inherently unstable: they occur, and are subsequently lost, at extremely high rates. We propose that this unusually plastic type of mutation pro

SUBMITTER: Khomarbaghi Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10954465 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature