Coevolving Plasmids Drive Gene Flow and Genome Plasticity in Host-Associated Intracellular Bacteria
- Author(s)
- Stephan Köstlbacher, Astrid Horn, Tamara Halter, Daryl Domman, Matthias Horn
- Abstract
Plasmids are important in microbial evolution and adaptation to new environments. Yet, carrying a plasmid can be costly, and long-term association of plasmids with their hosts is poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence that the Chlamydiae, a phylum of strictly host-associated intracellular bacteria, have coevolved with their plasmids since their last common ancestor. Current chlamydial plasmids are amalgamations of at least one ancestral plasmid and a bacteriophage. We show that the majority of plasmid genes are also found on chromosomes of extant chlamydiae. The most conserved plasmid gene families are predominantly vertically inherited, while accessory plasmid gene families show significantly increased mobility. We reconstructed the evolutionary history of plasmid gene content of an entire bacterial phylum over a period of around one billion years. Frequent horizontal gene transfer and chromosomal integration events illustrate the pronounced impact of coevolution with these extrachromosomal elements on bacterial genome dynamics in host-dependent microbes.
- Organisation(s)
- Department of Microbiology and Ecosystem Science
- External organisation(s)
- University of Cambridge, University of New Mexico
- Journal
- Current Biology
- Volume
- 31
- Pages
- 346-357
- No. of pages
- 15
- ISSN
- 0960-9822
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.10.030
- Publication date
- 11-2020
- Peer reviewed
- Yes
- Austrian Fields of Science 2012
- 106012 Evolutionary research, 106014 Genomics, 106022 Microbiology
- Keywords
- ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Agricultural and Biological Sciences(all), Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology(all), Neuroscience(all)
- Portal url
- https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/en/publications/coevolving-plasmids-drive-gene-flow-and-genome-plasticity-in-hostassociated-intracellular-bacteria(3e57de2e-760e-49ab-9033-2027d46b0e4a).html