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Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6509-6515, Vol. 181, No. 20
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Sequence and Organization of pXO1, the Large Bacillus
anthracis Plasmid Harboring the Anthrax Toxin Genes
R. T.
Okinaka,1,*
K.
Cloud,1,
O.
Hampton,1
A. R.
Hoffmaster,2
K. K.
Hill,1
P.
Keim,3
T. M.
Koehler,2
G.
Lamke,1,
S.
Kumano,1,§
J.
Mahillon,4
D.
Manter,1,
Y.
Martinez,1
D.
Ricke,1
# R.
Svensson,1 and
P.
J.
Jackson1
Life Sciences Division, Los Alamos National
Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 875451;
Department of Biology, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff,
Arizona 86011-56403; Department of
Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, University of Texas
Houston
Medical School, Houston, Texas 770302; and
Laboratoire de Génétique Microbienne
UCL,
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium4
Received 12 April 1999/Accepted 30 July 1999
The Bacillus anthracis Sterne plasmid pXO1 was
sequenced by random, "shotgun" cloning. A circular sequence of
181,654 bp was generated. One hundred forty-three open reading frames
(ORFs) were predicted using GeneMark and GeneMark.hmm, comprising only 61% (110,817 bp) of the pXO1 DNA sequence. The overall
guanine-plus-cytosine content of the plasmid is 32.5%. The most
recognizable feature of the plasmid is a "pathogenicity island,"
defined by a 44.8-kb region that is bordered by inverted
IS1627 elements at each end. This region contains the three
toxin genes (cya, lef, and pagA), regulatory elements controlling the toxin genes, three germination response genes, and 19 additional ORFs. Nearly 70% of the ORFs on pXO1
do not have significant similarity to sequences available in open
databases. Absent from the pXO1 sequence are homologs to genes that are
typically required to drive theta replication and to maintain stability
of large plasmids in Bacillus spp. Among the ORFs with a
high degree of similarity to known sequences are a collection of
putative transposases, resolvases, and integrases, suggesting an
evolution involving lateral movement of DNA among species. Among the
remaining ORFs, there are three sequences that may encode enzymes
responsible for the synthesis of a polysaccharide capsule usually
associated with serotype-specific virulent streptococci.
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: Life Sciences
Division, Los Alamos National Laboratory, M888, Los Alamos, NM
87545. Phone: (505) 667-2743. Fax: (505) 665-3024. E-mail:
okinaka{at}telomere.lanl.gov.

Present address: University of Colorado Health Science Center,
Denver, CO
80220.

Present address: Mayo Medical School, Rochester, MN
55905.
§
Present address: Department of Molecular and Cell Genetics, Tottori
University, Yonago, Tottori 683,
Japan.

Present address: College of Forestry, Oregon State University,
Corvallis, OR
97331.
Journal of Bacteriology, October 1999, p. 6509-6515, Vol. 181, No. 20
0021-9193/99/$04.00+0
Copyright © 1999, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
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