Silent gene clusters encode magnetic organelle biosynthesis in a non-magnetotactic phototrophic bacterium.

ABSTRACT: Horizontal gene transfer is a powerful source of innovations in prokaryotes that can affect almost any cellular system, including microbial organelles. The formation of magnetosomes, one of the most sophisticated microbial mineral-containing organelles synthesized by magnetotactic bacteria for magnetic navigation in the environment, was also shown to be a horizontally transferrable trait. However, the mechanisms determining the fate of such genes in new hosts are not well understood, since non-adaptive gene acquisitions are typically rapidly lost and become unavailable for observation. This likely explains why gene clusters encoding magnetosome biosynthesis have never been observed in non-magnetotactic bacteria. Here, we report the first discovery of a horizontally inherited dormant gene c

SUBMITTER: Dziuba MV 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9938234 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature