Previous Article | Next Article 
Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 1016-1023, Vol. 182, No. 4
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Barriers to Genetic Exchange between Bacterial
Species: Streptococcus pneumoniae Transformation
Jacek
Majewski,1,*
Piotr
Zawadzki,2,
Paul
Pickerill,3,
Frederick M.
Cohan,1 and
Christopher G.
Dowson3
Department of Biology, Wesleyan University,
Middletown, Connecticut 06459,1 and
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex,
Brighton BN1 9QG,2 and Department of
Biological Sciences, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4
7AL,3 United Kingdom
Received 9 August 1999/Accepted 24 November 1999
Interspecies genetic exchange is an important evolutionary
mechanism in bacteria. It allows rapid acquisition of novel functions by transmission of adaptive genes between related species. However, the
frequency of homologous recombination between bacterial species decreases sharply with the extent of DNA sequence divergence between the donor and the recipient. In Bacillus and
Escherichia, this sexual isolation has been shown to be an
exponential function of sequence divergence. Here we demonstrate that
sexual isolation in transformation between Streptococcus
pneumoniae recipient strains and donor DNA from related strains
and species follows the described exponential relationship. We show
that the Hex mismatch repair system poses a significant barrier to
recombination over the entire range of sequence divergence (0.6 to
27%) investigated. Although mismatch repair becomes partially
saturated, it is responsible for 34% of the observed sexual isolation.
This is greater than the role of mismatch repair in
Bacillus but less than that in Escherichia. The
remaining non-Hex-mediated barrier to recombination can be provided by
a variety of mechanisms. We discuss the possible additional mechanisms
of sexual isolation, in view of earlier findings from
Bacillus, Escherichia, and
Streptococcus.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Laboratory of
Statistical Genetics, Box 192, Rockefeller University, 1230 York Ave., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 327-7922. Fax: (212) 327-7996. E-mail: majewski{at}complex.rockefeller.edu.

Present address: Procter & Gamble, 65824 Schwalbach/Ts,
Germany.

Present address: Zeneca Agrochemicals, Jeallots Hill Research
Station, Bracknell RG42 6ET, United
Kingdom.
Journal of Bacteriology, February 2000, p. 1016-1023, Vol. 182, No. 4
0021-9193/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
This article has been cited by other articles:
-
Ray, J. L., Harms, K., Wikmark, O.-G., Starikova, I., Johnsen, P. J., Nielsen, K. M.
(2009). Sexual Isolation in Acinetobacter baylyi Is Locus-Specific and Varies 10,000-Fold Over the Genome. Genetics
182: 1165-1181
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Doolittle, W. F., Zhaxybayeva, O.
(2009). On the origin of prokaryotic species. Genome Res
19: 744-756
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Fraser, C., Alm, E. J., Polz, M. F., Spratt, B. G., Hanage, W. P.
(2009). The Bacterial Species Challenge: Making Sense of Genetic and Ecological Diversity. Science
323: 741-746
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Costechareyre, D., Bertolla, F., Nesme, X.
(2009). Homologous Recombination in Agrobacterium: Potential Implications for the Genomic Species Concept in Bacteria. Mol Biol Evol
26: 167-176
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Eppley, J. M., Tyson, G. W., Getz, W. M., Banfield, J. F.
(2007). Genetic Exchange Across a Species Boundary in the Archaeal Genus Ferroplasma. Genetics
177: 407-416
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Fraser, C., Hanage, W. P., Spratt, B. G.
(2007). Recombination and the Nature of Bacterial Speciation. Science
315: 476-480
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Hanage, W. P, Fraser, C., Spratt, B. G
(2006). Sequences, sequence clusters and bacterial species. Phil Trans R Soc B
361: 1917-1927
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Konstantinidis, K. T, Ramette, A., Tiedje, J. M
(2006). The bacterial species definition in the genomic era. Phil Trans R Soc B
361: 1929-1940
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Polz, M. F, Hunt, D. E, Preheim, S. P, Weinreich, D. M
(2006). Patterns and mechanisms of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in marine microbes. Phil Trans R Soc B
361: 2009-2021
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Hanage, W. P, Spratt, B. G, Turner, K. M.E, Fraser, C.
(2006). Modelling bacterial speciation. Phil Trans R Soc B
361: 2039-2044
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Falush, D., Torpdahl, M., Didelot, X., Conrad, D. F, Wilson, D. J, Achtman, M.
(2006). Mismatch induced speciation in Salmonella: model and data. Phil Trans R Soc B
361: 2045-2053
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Sagi, D., Tlusty, T., Stavans, J.
(2006). High fidelity of RecA-catalyzed recombination: a watchdog of genetic diversity. Nucleic Acids Res
34: 5021-5031
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Whalan, R. H., Funnell, S. G. P., Bowler, L. D., Hudson, M. J., Robinson, A., Dowson, C. G.
(2006). Distribution and Genetic Diversity of the ABC Transporter Lipoproteins PiuA and PiaA within Streptococcus pneumoniae and Related Streptococci. J. Bacteriol.
188: 1031-1038
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Stanhope, M. J., Walsh, S. L., Becker, J. A., Italia, M. J., Ingraham, K. A., Gwynn, M. N., Mathie, T., Poupard, J. A., Miller, L. A., Brown, J. R., Amrine-Madsen, H.
(2005). Molecular Evolution Perspectives on Intraspecific Lateral DNA Transfer of Topoisomerase and Gyrase Loci in Streptococcus pneumoniae, with Implications for Fluoroquinolone Resistance Development and Spread. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
49: 4315-4326
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Bessen, D. E., Manoharan, A., Luo, F., Wertz, J. E., Robinson, D. A.
(2005). Evolution of Transcription Regulatory Genes Is Linked to Niche Specialization in the Bacterial Pathogen Streptococcus pyogenes. J. Bacteriol.
187: 4163-4172
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Vetsigian, K., Goldenfeld, N.
(2005). From The Cover: Global divergence of microbial genome sequences mediated by propagating fronts. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA
102: 7332-7337
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Prunier, A.-L., Leclercq, R.
(2005). Role of mutS and mutL Genes in Hypermutability and Recombination in Staphylococcus aureus. J. Bacteriol.
187: 3455-3464
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Meier, P., Wackernagel, W.
(2005). Impact of mutS Inactivation on Foreign DNA Acquisition by Natural Transformation in Pseudomonas stutzeri. J. Bacteriol.
187: 143-154
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Hauser, C., Aebi, S., Muhlemann, K.
(2004). An Internationally Spread Clone of Streptococcus pneumoniae Evolves from Low-Level to Higher-Level Penicillin Resistance by Uptake of Penicillin-Binding Protein Gene Fragments from Nonencapsulated Pneumococci. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
48: 3563-3566
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Bell, J. S., McCulloch, R.
(2003). Mismatch Repair Regulates Homologous Recombination, but Has Little Influence on Antigenic Variation, in Trypanosoma brucei. J. Biol. Chem.
278: 45182-45188
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Townsend, J. P., Nielsen, K. M., Fisher, D. S., Hartl, D. L.
(2003). Horizontal Acquisition of Divergent Chromosomal DNA in Bacteria: Effects of Mutator Phenotypes. Genetics
164: 13-21
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Meier, P. S., Utz, S., Aebi, S., Muhlemann, K.
(2003). Low-Level Resistance to Rifampin in Streptococcus pneumoniae. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother.
47: 863-868
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Lawrence, J. G., Hatfull, G. F., Hendrix, R. W.
(2002). Imbroglios of Viral Taxonomy: Genetic Exchange and Failings of Phenetic Approaches. J. Bacteriol.
184: 4891-4905
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Kalia, A., Enright, M. C., Spratt, B. G., Bessen, D. E.
(2001). Directional Gene Movement from Human-Pathogenic to Commensal-Like Streptococci. Infect. Immun.
69: 4858-4869
[Abstract]
[Full Text]
-
Francis, K. P., Yu, J., Bellinger-Kawahara, C., Joh, D., Hawkinson, M. J., Xiao, G., Purchio, T. F., Caparon, M. G., Lipsitch, M., Contag, P. R.
(2001). Visualizing Pneumococcal Infections in the Lungs of Live Mice Using Bioluminescent Streptococcus pneumoniae Transformed with a Novel Gram-Positive lux Transposon. Infect. Immun.
69: 3350-3358
[Abstract]
[Full Text]