The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite.
We sequenced the genome of Rickettsia felis, a flea-associated obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacterium causing spotted fever in humans. Besides a circular chromosome of 1,485,148 bp, R. felis exhibits the first putative conjugative plasmid identified among obligate intracellular bacteria. This...
| Format: | Article |
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| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2005-08-01
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| Series: | PLoS Biology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030248 |
| _version_ | 1818585715481509888 |
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| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We sequenced the genome of Rickettsia felis, a flea-associated obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacterium causing spotted fever in humans. Besides a circular chromosome of 1,485,148 bp, R. felis exhibits the first putative conjugative plasmid identified among obligate intracellular bacteria. This plasmid is found in a short (39,263 bp) and a long (62,829 bp) form. R. felis contrasts with previously sequenced Rickettsia in terms of many other features, including a number of transposases, several chromosomal toxin-antitoxin genes, many more spoT genes, and a very large number of ankyrin- and tetratricopeptide-motif-containing genes. Host-invasion-related genes for patatin and RickA were found. Several phenotypes predicted from genome analysis were experimentally tested: conjugative pili and mating were observed, as well as beta-lactamase activity, actin-polymerization-driven mobility, and hemolytic properties. Our study demonstrates that complete genome sequencing is the fastest approach to reveal phenotypic characters of recently cultured obligate intracellular bacteria. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-16T08:41:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a2c74a7eb6f840f5bbedbfdcf12cc25f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1544-9173 1545-7885 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-16T08:41:29Z |
| publishDate | 2005-08-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-a2c74a7eb6f840f5bbedbfdcf12cc25f2022-12-21T22:37:41ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS Biology1544-91731545-78852005-08-0138e248The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite.We sequenced the genome of Rickettsia felis, a flea-associated obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacterium causing spotted fever in humans. Besides a circular chromosome of 1,485,148 bp, R. felis exhibits the first putative conjugative plasmid identified among obligate intracellular bacteria. This plasmid is found in a short (39,263 bp) and a long (62,829 bp) form. R. felis contrasts with previously sequenced Rickettsia in terms of many other features, including a number of transposases, several chromosomal toxin-antitoxin genes, many more spoT genes, and a very large number of ankyrin- and tetratricopeptide-motif-containing genes. Host-invasion-related genes for patatin and RickA were found. Several phenotypes predicted from genome analysis were experimentally tested: conjugative pili and mating were observed, as well as beta-lactamase activity, actin-polymerization-driven mobility, and hemolytic properties. Our study demonstrates that complete genome sequencing is the fastest approach to reveal phenotypic characters of recently cultured obligate intracellular bacteria.http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030248 |
| spellingShingle | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. PLoS Biology |
| title | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. |
| title_full | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. |
| title_fullStr | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. |
| title_full_unstemmed | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. |
| title_short | The genome sequence of Rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite. |
| title_sort | genome sequence of rickettsia felis identifies the first putative conjugative plasmid in an obligate intracellular parasite |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0030248 |