Insights and inferences about integron evolution from genomic data.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Integrons are mechanisms that facilitate horizontal gene transfer, allowing bacteria to integrate and express foreign DNA. These are important in the exchange of antibiotic resistance determinants, but can also transfer a diverse suite of genes unrelated to pathogenicity. Here, we provide a systematic analysis of the distribution and diversity of integron intI genes and integron-containing bacteria.

Results

We found integrons in 103 different pathogenic and non-pathogenic bacteria, in six major phyla. Integrons were widely scattered, and their presence was not confined to specific clades within bacterial orders. Nearly 1/3 of the intI genes that we identified were pseudogenes, containing either an internal stop codon or a frameshift mutation that would render the

SUBMITTER: Nemergut DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2426708 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature