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Detection of Horizontal Gene Transfer Mediated by Natural Conjugative Plasmids in E. coli
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DNA structure at the plasmid origin-of-transfer indicates its potential transfer range

Jan Zrimec1,2,3, Aleš Lapanje4,5,6

  • 1Institute of Metagenomics and Microbial Technologies, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia. janzrimec@gmail.com.

Scientific Reports
|January 31, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Predicting antimicrobial resistance spread is crucial. A new bioinformatics method accurately determines plasmid mobility groups by analyzing DNA sequences, improving understanding of how resistance spreads between bacteria.

Area of Science:

  • Microbiology
  • Genetics
  • Bioinformatics

Background:

  • Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) spreads via horizontal gene transfer mediated by conjugative plasmids.
  • Plasmid mobility (MOB) groups dictate the host range for gene transfer, currently identified by relaxase protein sequences.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To develop a bioinformatics procedure for predicting plasmid MOB groups.
  • To enable accurate prediction of the potential transfer range of plasmids.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the origin-of-transfer (oriT) region, a non-coding DNA sequence crucial for plasmid conjugation.
  • Computational interpretation of oriT conformational and physicochemical properties to predict MOB groups.

Main Results:

  • A novel bioinformatics procedure accurately predicts plasmid MOB groups with over 99% accuracy.
  • oriT structural properties are conserved and more efficient for MOB group discrimination than nucleotide sequences.

Conclusions:

  • The developed procedure provides an efficient method for predicting plasmid MOB groups and their transfer range.
  • This tool aids in understanding and combating the spread of antimicrobial resistance.

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