The Integrative Conjugative Element (ICE) of Mycoplasma agalactiae: Key Elements Involved in Horizontal Dissemination and Influence of Coresident ICEs.

ABSTRACT: The discovery of integrative conjugative elements (ICEs) in wall-less mycoplasmas and the demonstration of their role in massive gene flows within and across species have shed new light on the evolution of these minimal bacteria. Of these, the ICE of the ruminant pathogen Mycoplasma agalactiae (ICEA) represents a prototype and belongs to a new clade of the Mutator-like superfamily that has no preferential insertion site and often occurs as multiple chromosomal copies. Here, functional genomics and mating experiments were combined to address ICEA functions and define the minimal ICEA chassis conferring conjugative properties to M. agalactiae Data further indicated a complex interaction among coresident ICEAs, since the minimal ICEA structure was influenced by the occurrence of

SUBMITTER: Baranowski E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6030558 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature