Genomic plasticity of the causative agent of melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei.

@article{citeulike:873611, abstract = {Burkholderia pseudomallei is a recognized biothreat agent and the causative agent of melioidosis. This Gram-negative bacterium exists as a soil saprophyte in melioidosis-endemic areas of the world and accounts for 20\% of community-acquired septicaemias in northeastern Thailand where half of those affected die. Here we report the complete genome of B. pseudomallei, which is composed of two chromosomes of 4.07 megabase pairs and 3.17 megabase pairs, showing significant functional partitioning of genes between them. The large chromosome encodes many of the core functions associated with central metabolism and cell growth, whereas the small chromosome carries more accessory functions associated with adaptation and survival in different niches. Genomic comparisons with closely and more distantly related bacteria revealed a greater level of gene order conservation and a greater number of orthologous genes on the large chromosome, suggesting that the two replicons have distinct evolutionary origins. A striking feature of the genome was the presence of 16 genomic islands (GIs) that together made up 6.1\% of the genome. Further analysis revealed these islands to be variably present in a collection of invasive and soil isolates but entirely absent from the clonally related organism B. mallei. We propose that variable horizontal gene acquisition by B. pseudomallei is an important feature of recent genetic evolution and that this has resulted in a genetically diverse pathogenic species.}, address = {Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom.}, author = {Holden, M. T. and Titball, R. W. and Peacock, S. J. and Cerde\~{n}o-T\'{a}rraga, A. M. and Atkins, T. and Crossman, L. C. and Pitt, T. and Churcher, C. and Mungall, K. and Bentley, S. D. and Sebaihia, M. and Thomson, N. R. and Bason, N. and Beacham, I. R. and Brooks, K. and Brown, K. A. and Brown, N. F. and Challis, G. L. and Cherevach, I. and Chillingworth, T. and Cronin, A. and Crossett, B. and Davis, P. and DeShazer, D. and Feltwell, T. and Fraser, A. and Hance, Z. and Hauser, H. and Holroyd, S. and Jagels, K. and Keith, K. E. and Maddison, M. and Moule, S. and Price, C. and Quail, M. A. and Rabbinowitsch, E. and Rutherford, K. and Sanders, M. and Simmonds, M. and Songsivilai, S. and Stevens, K. and Tumapa, S. and Vesaratchavest, M. and Whitehead, S. and Yeats, C. and Barrell, B. G. and Oyston, P. C. and Parkhill, J. }, citeulike-article-id = {873611}, doi = {10.1073/pnas.0403302101}, issn = {0027-8424}, journal = {Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A}, keywords = {genome\_problematic}, month = {September}, number = {39}, pages = {14240--14245}, posted-at = {2008-03-12 21:31:14}, priority = {2}, title = {Genomic plasticity of the causative agent of melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei.}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403302101}, volume = {101}, year = {2004} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:873611 L3 - citeulike-article-id:873611 TI - Genomic plasticity of the causative agent of melioidosis, Burkholderia pseudomallei. JF - Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A VL - 101 IS - 39 SP - 14240 EP - 14245 AD - Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, United Kingdom. SN - 0027-8424 N2 - Burkholderia pseudomallei is a recognized biothreat agent and the causative agent of melioidosis. This Gram-negative bacterium exists as a soil saprophyte in melioidosis-endemic areas of the world and accounts for 20% of community-acquired septicaemias in northeastern Thailand where half of those affected die. Here we report the complete genome of B. pseudomallei, which is composed of two chromosomes of 4.07 megabase pairs and 3.17 megabase pairs, showing significant functional partitioning of genes between them. The large chromosome encodes many of the core functions associated with central metabolism and cell growth, whereas the small chromosome carries more accessory functions associated with adaptation and survival in different niches. Genomic comparisons with closely and more distantly related bacteria revealed a greater level of gene order conservation and a greater number of orthologous genes on the large chromosome, suggesting that the two replicons have distinct evolutionary origins. A striking feature of the genome was the presence of 16 genomic islands (GIs) that together made up 6.1% of the genome. Further analysis revealed these islands to be variably present in a collection of invasive and soil isolates but entirely absent from the clonally related organism B. mallei. We propose that variable horizontal gene acquisition by B. pseudomallei is an important feature of recent genetic evolution and that this has resulted in a genetically diverse pathogenic species. KW - genome_problematic AU - Holden, MT AU - Titball, RW AU - Peacock, SJ AU - Cerdeño-Tárraga, AM AU - Atkins, T AU - Crossman, LC AU - Pitt, T AU - Churcher, C AU - Mungall, K AU - Bentley, SD AU - Sebaihia, M AU - Thomson, NR AU - Bason, N AU - Beacham, IR AU - Brooks, K AU - Brown, KA AU - Brown, NF AU - Challis, GL AU - Cherevach, I AU - Chillingworth, T AU - Cronin, A AU - Crossett, B AU - Davis, P AU - DeShazer, D AU - Feltwell, T AU - Fraser, A AU - Hance, Z AU - Hauser, H AU - Holroyd, S AU - Jagels, K AU - Keith, KE AU - Maddison, M AU - Moule, S AU - Price, C AU - Quail, MA AU - Rabbinowitsch, E AU - Rutherford, K AU - Sanders, M AU - Simmonds, M AU - Songsivilai, S AU - Stevens, K AU - Tumapa, S AU - Vesaratchavest, M AU - Whitehead, S AU - Yeats, C AU - Barrell, BG AU - Oyston, PC AU - Parkhill, J PY - 2004/09/28/ UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0403302101 ER -