Plasmid localization of sole rrn operon in genomes of Oecophyllibacter saccharovorans (Acetobacteraceae)
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-1-2021
Abstract
The bacterium Oecophyllibacter saccharovorans of family Acetobacteraceae is a symbiont of weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina. In our previous study, we published the finding of novel O. saccharovorans strains Ha5(T), Ta1 and Jb2 (Chua et al. 2020) but their plasmid sequences have not been reported before. Here, we demonstrate for the first time that the sole rrn operon of their genomes was detected on a 6.6 kb circular replicon. This replicon occurred in high copy number, much smaller size and lower G + C content than the main chromosome. Based on these features, the 6.6 kb circular replicon was regarded as rrn operon-containing plasmid. Further restriction analysis on the plasmids confirmed their circular conformation. A Southern hybridization analysis also corroborated the presence of 16S rRNA gene and thus the rrn operon on a single locus in the genome of the O. saccharovorans strains. However, similar genome architecture was not observed in other closely related bacterial strains. Additional survey also detected no plasmid-borne rrn operon in available genomes of validly described taxa of family Acetobacteraceae. To date, plasmid localization of rrn operon is rarely documented. This study reports the occurrence of rrn operon on the smallest bacterial plasmid in three O. saccharovorans strains and discusses its possible importance in enhancing their competitive fitness as bacterial symbiont of O. smaragdina.
Keywords
Oecophyllibacter saccharovorans, Rrn operon, Plasmid, Genome organization
Divisions
advanced
Funders
University of Malaya Research Grants (FRGS grant) [FP022-2018A],University of Malaya High Impact Research Grants (UM-MOHE HIR Grant) [UM.C/625/1/HIR/MOHE/CHAN/14/1] [H-50001-A000027] [UM.C/625/1/HIR/MOHE/CHAN/01] [A-000001-50001]
Publication Title
Plasmid
Volume
114
Publisher
Academic Press Inc Elsevier Science
Publisher Location
525 B ST, STE 1900, SAN DIEGO, CA 92101-4495 USA