Characterization of a relaxase belonging to the MOB_T family, a widespread family in Firmicutes mediating the transfer of ICEs.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Conjugative spread of antibiotic resistance and virulence genes in bacteria constitutes an important threat to public health. Beyond the well-known conjugative plasmids, recent genome analyses have shown that integrative and conjugative elements (ICEs) are the most widespread conjugative elements, even if their transfer mechanism has been little studied until now. The initiator of conjugation is the relaxase, a protein catalyzing a site-specific nick on the origin of transfer (oriT) of the ICE. Besides canonical relaxases, recent studies revealed non-canonical ones, such as relaxases of the MOB_T family that are related to rolling-circle replication proteins of the Rep_trans family. MOB_T relaxases are encoded by ICEs of the ICESt3

SUBMITTER: Soler N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6499999 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature