Mixed waste contamination selects for a mobile genetic element population enriched in multiple heavy metal resistance genes.

ABSTRACT: Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) like plasmids, viruses, and transposable elements can provide fitness benefits to their hosts for survival in the presence of environmental stressors. Heavy metal resistance genes (HMRGs) are frequently observed on MGEs, suggesting that MGEs may be an important driver of adaptive evolution in environments contaminated with heavy metals. Here, we report the meta-mobilome of the heavy metal-contaminated regions of the Oak Ridge Reservation subsurface. This meta-mobilome was compared with one derived from samples collected from unimpacted regions of the Oak Ridge Reservation subsurface. We assembled 1615 unique circularized DNA elements that we propose to be MGEs. The circular elements from the highly contaminated subsurface were enriched in HMRG clusters relati

SUBMITTER: Goff JL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11128244 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature