Conjugative Transposons and Their Cargo Genes Vary across Natural Populations of Rickettsia buchneri Infecting the Tick Ixodes scapularis.

ABSTRACT: Rickettsia buchneri (formerly Rickettsia endosymbiont of Ixodes scapularis, or REIS) is an obligate intracellular endoparasite of the black-legged tick, the primary vector of Lyme disease in North America. It is noteworthy among the rickettsiae for its relatively large genome (1.8 Mb) and extraordinary proliferation of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), which comprise nearly 35% of its genome. Previous analysis of the R. buchneri genome identified several integrative conjugative elements named Rickettsiales amplified genomic elements (RAGEs); the composition of these RAGEs suggests that continued genomic invasions by MGEs facilitated the proliferation of rickettsial genes related to an intracellular lifestyle. In this study, we compare the genomic diversity at RAGE loci among sequenced ricket

SUBMITTER: Hagen R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6300072 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature