Lactococcal mobile genetic elements harbour a diverse phage defensome rich in restriction-modification systems.

ABSTRACT: The genomes of 43 distinct lactococcal strains were reconstructed by a combination of long- and short-read sequencing, resolving the plasmid complement and methylome of these strains. The genomes comprised 43 chromosomes of approximately 2.5 Mb each and 269 plasmids ranging from 2 to 211 kb (at an average occurrence of 6 per strain). A total of 953 antiphage genes representing 538 phage defence systems were identified in the 43 strains and were catalogued and cross-correlated with co-occurrent mobile elements, which indicated that almost 60% of these systems are predicted to be mobile. Detailed analysis established that restriction-modification (R-M) systems form a significant portion of this mobile phage defensome. As such, all detected Type I, II, and III-associated methylated motifs (46

SUBMITTER: McDonnell B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12418389 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature