DNA Methylation in Ensifer Species during Free-Living Growth and during Nitrogen-Fixing Symbiosis with Medicago spp.

ABSTRACT: Methylation of specific DNA sequences is ubiquitous in bacteria and has known roles in immunity and regulation of cellular processes, such as the cell cycle. Here, we explored DNA methylation in bacteria of the genus Ensifer, including its potential role in regulating terminal differentiation during nitrogen-fixing symbiosis with legumes. Using single-molecule real-time sequencing, six genome-wide methylated motifs were identified across four Ensifer strains, five of which were strain-specific. Only the GANTC motif, recognized by the cell cycle-regulated CcrM methyltransferase, was methylated in all strains. In actively dividing cell cultures, methylation of GANTC motifs increased progressively from the ori to ter regions in each replicon, in agreement with a ce

SUBMITTER: diCenzo GC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8725594 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature