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Analysis of the Hypervariable Region of the Salmonella enterica Genome Associated with tRNA^leuX

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge,² Centre for Molecular Microbiology and Infection, Department of Biological Sciences, Imperial College London, London,¹ Department of Food and Environmental Safety, Veterinary Laboratories Agency—Weybridge, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, United Kingdom,³ Oxford University Clinical Research Unit,⁴ Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam⁵

Received 7 April 2004/ Accepted 8 December 2004

The divergence of Salmonella enterica and Escherichia coli is estimated to have occurred approximately 140 million years ago. Despite this evolutionary distance, the genomes of these two species still share extensive synteny and homology. However, there are significant differences between the two species in terms of genes putatively acquired via various horizontal transfer events. Here we report on the composition and distribution across the Salmonella genus of a chromosomal region designated SPI-10 in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi and located adjacent to tRNA^leuX. We find that across the Salmonella genus the tRNA^leuX region is a hypervariable hot spot for horizontal gene transfer; different isolates from the same S. enterica serovar can exhibit significant variation in this region. Many P4 phage, plasmid, and transposable element-associated genes are found adjacent to tRNA^leuX in both Salmonella and E. coli, suggesting that these mobile genetic elements have played a major role in driving the variability of this region.

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