This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowReprints and Permissions
Right arrow Copyright Information
Right arrow Books from ASM Press
Right arrow MicrobeWorld
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Akman, L.
Right arrow Articles by Aksoy, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Akman, L.
Right arrow Articles by Aksoy, S.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4517-4525, Vol. 183, No. 15
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.15.4517-4525.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Genome Size Determination and Coding Capacity of Sodalis glossinidius, an Enteric Symbiont of Tsetse Flies, as Revealed by Hybridization to Escherichia coli Gene Arrays

Leyla Akman, Rita V. M. Rio, Charles B. Beard,dagger and Serap Aksoy*

Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Section of Vector Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06510

Received 26 January 2001/Accepted 3 May 2001

Recent molecular characterization of various microbial genomes has revealed differences in genome size and coding capacity between obligate symbionts and intracellular pathogens versus free-living organisms. Multiple symbiotic microorganisms have evolved with tsetse fly, the vector of African trypanosomes, over long evolutionary times. Although these symbionts are indispensable for tsetse fecundity, the biochemical and molecular basis of their functional significance is unknown. Here, we report on the genomic aspects of the secondary symbiont Sodalis glossinidius. The genome size of Sodalis is approximately 2 Mb. Its DNA is subject to extensive methylation and based on some of its conserved gene sequences has an A+T content of only 45%, compared to the typically AT-rich genomes of endosymbionts. Sodalis also harbors an extrachromosomal plasmid about 134 kb in size. We used a novel approach to gain insight into Sodalis genomic contents, i.e., hybridizing its DNA to macroarrays developed for Escherichia coli, a closely related enteric bacterium. In this analysis we detected 1,800 orthologous genes, corresponding to about 85% of the Sodalis genome. The Sodalis genome has apparently retained its genes for DNA replication, transcription, translation, transport, and the biosynthesis of amino acids, nucleic acids, vitamins, and cofactors. However, many genes involved in energy metabolism and carbon compound assimilation are apparently missing, which may indicate an adaptation to the energy sources available in the only nutrient of the tsetse host, blood. We present gene arrays as a rapid tool for comparative genomics in the absence of whole genome sequence to advance our understanding of closely related bacteria.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Section of Vector Biology, Yale University School of Medicine, 60 College St., 606 LEPH, New Haven, CT 06510. Phone: (203) 737-2180. Fax: (203) 785-4782. E-mail: serap.aksoy{at}yale.edu.

dagger Present address: Division of Parasitic Diseases, Entomology Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, GA 30341-3724.

Journal of Bacteriology, August 2001, p. 4517-4525, Vol. 183, No. 15
0021-9193/01/$04.00+0   DOI: 10.1128/JB.183.15.4517-4525.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Baldridge, G. D., Burkhardt, N. Y., Felsheim, R. F., Kurtti, T. J., Munderloh, U. G. (2007). Transposon Insertion Reveals pRM, a Plasmid of Rickettsia monacensis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 73: 4984-4995 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Weiss, B. L., Mouchotte, R., Rio, R. V. M., Wu, Y.-n., Wu, Z., Heddi, A., Aksoy, S. (2006). Interspecific Transfer of Bacterial Endosymbionts between Tsetse Fly Species: Infection Establishment and Effect on Host Fitness. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 7013-7021 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dale, C., Beeton, M., Harbison, C., Jones, T., Pontes, M. (2006). Isolation, Pure Culture, and Characterization of "Candidatus Arsenophonus arthropodicus," an Intracellular Secondary Endosymbiont from the Hippoboscid Louse Fly Pseudolynchia canariensis. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 72: 2997-3004 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Toh, H., Weiss, B. L., Perkin, S. A.H., Yamashita, A., Oshima, K., Hattori, M., Aksoy, S. (2006). Massive genome erosion and functional adaptations provide insights into the symbiotic lifestyle of Sodalis glossinidius in the tsetse host. Genome Res 16: 149-156 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dale, C., Jones, T., Pontes, M. (2005). Degenerative Evolution and Functional Diversification of Type-III Secretion Systems in the Insect Endosymbiont Sodalis glossinidius. Mol Biol Evol 22: 758-766 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Rio, R. V. M., Lefevre, C., Heddi, A., Aksoy, S. (2003). Comparative Genomics of Insect-Symbiotic Bacteria: Influence of Host Environment on Microbial Genome Composition. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 6825-6832 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Marokhazi, J., Waterfield, N., LeGoff, G., Feil, E., Stabler, R., Hinds, J., Fodor, A., ffrench-Constant, R. H. (2003). Using a DNA Microarray To Investigate the Distribution of Insect Virulence Factors in Strains of Photorhabdus Bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 185: 4648-4656 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Dale, C., Wang, B., Moran, N., Ochman, H. (2003). Loss of DNA Recombinational Repair Enzymes in the Initial Stages of Genome Degeneration. Mol Biol Evol 20: 1188-1194 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Porwollik, S., Wong, R. M.-Y., McClelland, M. (2002). Evolutionary genomics of Salmonella: Gene acquisitions revealed by microarray analysis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 99: 8956-8961 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
  • Garaizar, J., Porwollik, S., Echeita, A., Rementeria, A., Herrera, S., Wong, R. M.-Y., Frye, J., Usera, M. A., McClelland, M. (2002). DNA Microarray-Based Typing of an Atypical Monophasic Salmonella enterica Serovar. J. Clin. Microbiol. 40: 2074-2078 [Abstract] [Full Text]  


Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology.   For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»