| Title |
Parallel Gene Loss and Acquisition Among Strains of Different Brucella Species and Biovars |
| Author |
Zhijun Zhong1,2, Yufei Wang1, Jie Xu1, Yanfen Chen1, Yuehua Ke1, Xiaoyan Zhou3, Xitong Yuan1, Dongsheng Zhou4, Yi Yang1, Ruifu Yang4, Guangneng Peng2, Hai Jiang3, Jing Yuan1, Hongbin Song1, Buyun Cui3*, Liuyu Huang1*, and Zeliang Chen1* |
| Address |
1Department of Infectious Disease Control, Beijing Institute of Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100071, P. R. China, 2College of Veterinary Medicine, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya’an 625014, P. R. China, 3National Institute for Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, P.O. Box 5, Changping, Beijing 102206, P.R. China, 4Laboratory of Analytical Microbiology, State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity, Beijing Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Beijing 100071, P. R. China |
| Bibliography |
Journal of Microbiology, 50(4),567-574, 2012,
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| DOI |
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| Key Words |
Brucella, DNA microarray, comparative genome hybridization, parallel loss and acquisition |
| Abstract |
The genus Brucella is divided into six species; of these, B. melitensis and B. abortus are pathogenic to humans, and B. ovis and B. neotomae are nonpathogenic to humans. The definition of gene loss and acquisition is essential for understanding Brucella’s ecology, evolutionary history, and host relationships. A DNA microarray containing unique genes of B. melitensis Type strain 16MT and B. abortus 9-941 was constructed and used to determine the gene contents of the representative strains of Brucella. Phylogenetic relationships were inferred from sequences of housekeeping genes. Gene loss and acquisition of different Brucella species were inferred. A total of 214 genes were found to be differentially distributed, and 173 of them were clustered into 15 genomic islands (GIs). Evidence of horizontal gene transfer was observed for 10 GIs. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the 19 strains formed five clades, and some of the GIs had been lost or acquired independently among the different lineages. The derivation of Brucella lineages is concomitant with the parallel loss or acquisition of GIs, indicating a complex interaction between various Brucella species and hosts. |
