Comparative genome analysis of Spiroplasma melliferum IPMB4A, a honeybee-associated bacterium.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The genus Spiroplasma contains a group of helical, motile, and wall-less bacteria in the class Mollicutes. Similar to other members of this class, such as the animal-pathogenic Mycoplasma and the plant-pathogenic 'Candidatus Phytoplasma', all characterized Spiroplasma species were found to be associated with eukaryotic hosts. While most of the Spiroplasma species appeared to be harmless commensals of insects, a small number of species have evolved pathogenicity toward various arthropods and plants. In this study, we isolated a novel strain of honeybee-associated S. melliferum and investigated its genetic composition and evolutionary history by whole-genome shotgun sequencing and comparative analysis with other Mollicutes genomes.

Results

The whole-genome shotgun s

SUBMITTER: Lo WS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3563533 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature