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Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Inducible T7 RNA Polymerase-mediated Multigene Expression System, pMGX
Published on: June 27, 2017
Non-gamma-proteobacteria gene islands contribute to the Xanthomonas genome
Wanessa C Lima1, Marie-Anne Van Sluys, Carlos F M Menck
1Department of Microbiology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of São Paulo, ICB II, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Abstract:
Horizontal gene transfer, a process through which genomes acquire sequences from distantly related organisms, is believed to be a major source of genetic diversity in bacteria. A central question concerning the impact of gene transfer on bacterial genome evolution is the proportion of horizontally transferred sequences within genomes. Through BLAST search, we found that the genomes of two phytopathogens, Xanthomonas campestris pv. campestris and Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri, have close to 40% of the genes with the highest similarity to genes from phylogenetically distant organisms (non-gamma-proteobacteria). Most of these genes are found to be contiguous in the genome, forming genome islands, which may have been transferred from other organisms. Overall, the total number of genes within genome islands corresponds to almost one quarter of the entire xanthomonad genomes. Interestingly, many of the genes in these islands are functionally related to plant pathogenesis and virulence. Thus, these results suggest that horizontally transferred genes are clustered in the genome, and may facilitate fitness in new environments, as in the case of plant-bacteria interaction.
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