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PMID: 10515943 Published · ppublish English Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

Sequence and organization of pXO1, the large Bacillus anthracis plasmid harboring the anthrax toxin genes.

Journal of bacteriology ·Vol. 181 ·No. 20 ·1999-10-00 ·Pages 6509-15

Okinaka RT, Cloud K, Hampton O, Hoffmaster AR, Hill KK, Keim P, Koehler TM, Lamke G, Kumano S, Mahillon J, Manter D, Martinez Y, Ricke D, Svensson R, Jackson PJ

Abstract

The Bacillus anthracis Sterne plasmid pXO1 was sequenced by random, "shotgun" cloning. A circular sequence of 181,654 bp was generated. One hundred forty-three open reading frames (ORFs) were predicted using GeneMark and GeneMark.hmm, comprising only 61% (110,817 bp) of the pXO1 DNA sequence. The overall guanine-plus-cytosine content of the plasmid is 32.5%. The most recognizable feature of the plasmid is a "pathogenicity island," defined by a 44.8-kb region that is bordered by inverted IS1627 elements at each end. This region contains the three toxin genes (cya, lef, and pagA), regulatory elements controlling the toxin genes, three germination response genes, and 19 additional ORFs. Nearly 70% of the ORFs on pXO1 do not have significant similarity to sequences available in open databases. Absent from the pXO1 sequence are homologs to genes that are typically required to drive theta replication and to maintain stability of large plasmids in Bacillus spp. Among the ORFs with a high degree of similarity to known sequences are a collection of putative transposases, resolvases, and integrases, suggesting an evolution involving lateral movement of DNA among species. Among the remaining ORFs, there are three sequences that may encode enzymes responsible for the synthesis of a polysaccharide capsule usually associated with serotype-specific virulent streptococci.

MeSH Terms
Antigens, Bacterial Bacillus anthracis/genetics Bacterial Toxins/genetics DNA, Bacterial/genetics Genes, Bacterial Molecular Sequence Data Open Reading Frames Plasmids/genetics Recombination, Genetic Replication Origin Restriction Mapping Sequence Analysis, DNA Sequence Homology
Chemicals
Antigens, Bacterial Bacterial Toxins DNA, Bacterial anthrax toxin
Authors & Affiliations
15 authors, click to expand affiliations / ORCID
Okinaka R T
Life Sciences Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA. [email protected]
Cloud K
Hampton O
Hoffmaster A R
Hill K K
Keim P
Koehler T M
Lamke G
Kumano S
Mahillon J
Manter D
Martinez Y
Ricke D
Svensson R
Jackson P J
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Article Info
Journal
Journal of bacteriology
Abbr.
J Bacteriol
ISSN
0021-9193
DOI
10.1128/JB.181.20.6509-6515.1999
Email
[email protected]
Published
1999-10-00
Pages
6509-15
Language
English
Region
United States
NLM ID
2985120R
PMCID
PMC103788
Subset
IM
Grants
NIAID NIH HHS · R01 AI033537 · United States
NIAID NIH HHS · AI33537 · United States
Databases
GENBANK
AF065404
External Links
PubMed source DOI: 10.1128/JB.181.20.6509-6515.1999 PMC Full Text View journal details
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