Identification and comparative analysis of a genomic island in Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis

Annesha Lahiri; Andrea Sanchini; Torsten Semmler; Hubert Schäfer; Astrid Lewin

doi:10.1016/j.febslet.2014.08.037

Identification and comparative analysis of a genomic island in Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis

FEBS Lett. 2014 Nov 3;588(21):3906-11. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.08.037. Epub 2014 Sep 12.

Authors

Annesha Lahiri¹, Andrea Sanchini¹, Torsten Semmler², Hubert Schäfer¹, Astrid Lewin³

Affiliations

¹ Robert Koch Institute, Division 16 Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
² Freie Universität Berlin, Centre for Infection Medicine, Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics, Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13, 14163 Berlin, Germany.
³ Robert Koch Institute, Division 16 Mycotic and Parasitic Agents and Mycobacteria, Nordufer 20, 13353 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: LewinA@rki.de.

PMID: 25217830
DOI: 10.1016/j.febslet.2014.08.037

Abstract

Mycobacterium avium subsp. hominissuis (MAH) is an environmental bacterium causing opportunistic infections. The objective of this study was to identify flexible genome regions in MAH isolated from different sources. By comparing five complete and draft MAH genomes we identified a genomic island conferring additional flexibility to the MAH genomes. The island was absent in one of the five strains and had sizes between 16.37 and 84.85kb in the four other strains. The genes present in the islands differed among strains and included phage- and plasmid-derived genes, integrase genes, hypothetical genes, and virulence-associated genes like mmpL or mce genes.

Keywords: Genome diversity; Genomic island; Horizontal gene transfer; Mycobacterium avium; Virulence.

Publication types

Comparative Study
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Environment
Genomic Islands*
Genomics*
Humans
Mycobacterium avium / genetics*
Mycobacterium avium / isolation & purification
Species Specificity