接合转座子Tn916的水平基因转移

水平基因转移（HGT）极大地提高了细菌物种对环境的适应性,促进了细菌的进化.原核生物通过水平基因转移获得的基因片段为基因岛（GEIs）.接合转座子（CTns）则是一种常见的可移动基因岛,通过接合进行水平基因转移,并主要传播抗生素抗性.该文介绍与讨论了一种发现较早,且被广泛研究的接合转座子Tn916的重组、接合转移和调控模块,阐述了这类接合转座子的一般结构、转移机制和影响.     

Phylogenetic analyses do not support horizontal gene transfers from bacteria to vertebrates.

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) has long been recognized as a principal force in the evolution of genomes. Genome sequences of Archaea and Bacteria have revealed the existence of genes whose similarity to loci in distantly related organisms is explained most parsimoniously by HGT events. In most multicellular organisms, such genetic fixation can occur only in the germ line. Therefore, it is notable that the publication of the human genome reports 113 incidents of direct HGT between bacteria and vertebrates, without any apparent occurrence in evolutionary intermediates, that is, non-vertebrate eukaryotes. Phylogenetic analysis arguably provides the most objective approach for determining the occurrence and directionality of HGT. Here we report a phylogenetic analysis of 28 proposed HGT genes, whose presence in the human genome had been confirmed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The results indicate that most putative HGT genes are present in more anciently derived eukaryotes (many such sequences available in non-vertebrate EST databases) and can be explained in terms of descent through common ancestry. They are, therefore, unlikely to be examples of direct HGT from bacteria to vertebrates.     

Strain-resolved community proteomics reveals recombining genomes of acidophilic bacteria

Microbes comprise the majority of extant organisms, yet much remains to be learned about the nature and driving forces of microbial diversification. Our understanding of how microorganisms adapt and evolve can be advanced by genome-wide documentation of the patterns of genetic exchange, particularly if analyses target coexisting members of natural communities. Here we use community genomic data sets to identify, with strain specificity, expressed proteins from the dominant member of a genomically uncharacterized, natural, acidophilic biofilm. Proteomics results reveal a genome shaped by recombination involving chromosomal regions of tens to hundreds of kilobases long that are derived from two closely related bacterial populations. Inter-population genetic exchange was confirmed by multilocus sequence typing of isolates and of uncultivated natural consortia. The findings suggest that exchange of large blocks of gene variants is crucial for the adaptation to specific ecological niches within the very acidic, metal-rich environment. Mass-spectrometry-based discrimination of expressed protein products that differ by as little as a single amino acid enables us to distinguish the behaviour of closely related coexisting organisms. This is important, given that microorganisms grouped together as a single species may have quite distinct roles in natural systems and their interactions might be key to ecosystem optimization. Because proteomic data simultaneously convey information about genome type and activity, strain-resolved community proteomics is an important complement to cultivation-independent genomic (metagenomic) analysis of microorganisms in the natural environment.     

转基因小黑杨对土壤微生物群落结构的影响

为评价转基因林木环境释放可能引起的生态风险,以及转基因林木在生产应用中的可行性和可靠性,以实验室种植的转Bt-蜘蛛神经毒肽重组基因的小黑杨为材料,对转基因与非转基因植株根际(通常为几毫米至几厘米)土壤细菌、放线菌、真菌数量和基因水平转移情况进行检测,结果表明:转基因小黑杨种植一段时间后其根系附近的微生物数量略高于非转基因小黑杨。利用卡那霉素选择培养基分离根系周围细菌菌落发现转基因植株周围的土样细菌中,Kan^R抗性细菌菌落数占总细菌菌落的比例在11.58%～13.00%之间,而非转基因植株根际周围和空白土壤细菌菌落数则在5.73%～6.40%之间,表明转基因小黑杨根系对土壤细菌的抗生素抗性产生一定的影响。利用转基因植株的目的基因和抗性基因设计引物,以土壤中细菌基因组DNA为模板进行PCR扩增,转基因植株种植7个月后,根际土壤细菌菌落中含有抗性基因的菌落数量明显增加。虽然在种植1个月的转基因植株根际土壤土样细菌中未检出目的基因,但在种植7个月后的土样中检验到了很少的目的基因阳性细菌,阳性细菌菌落比例为2%～5%,检测结果表明可能有极少数Bt-蜘蛛神经毒肽重组基因发生了水平转移。     

Natural conjugative plasmids induce bacterial biofilm development

Horizontal gene transfer is a principal source of evolution leading to change in the ecological character of bacterial species. Bacterial conjugation, which promotes the horizontal transfer of genetic material between donor and recipient cells by physical contact, is a phenomenon of fundamental evolutionary consequence. Although conjugation has been studied primarily in liquid, most natural bacterial populations are found associated with environmental surfaces in complex multispecies communities called biofilms. Biofilms are ideally suited to the exchange of genetic material of various origins, and it has been shown that bacterial conjugation occurs within biofilms. Here I investigate the direct contribution of conjugative plasmids themselves to the capacity of the bacterial host to form a biofilm. Natural conjugative plasmids expressed factors that induced planktonic bacteria to form or enter biofilm communities, which favour the infectious transfer of the plasmid. This general connection between conjugation and biofilms suggests that medically relevant plasmid-bearing strains are more likely to form a biofilm. This may influence both the chances of biofilm-related infection risks and of conjugational spread of virulence factors.     

Widespread horizontal transfer of mitochondrial genes in flowering plants

Horizontal gene transfer--the exchange of genes across mating barriers--is recognized as a major force in bacterial evolution. However, in eukaryotes it is prevalent only in certain phagotrophic protists and limited largely to the ancient acquisition of bacterial genes. Although the human genome was initially reported to contain over 100 genes acquired during vertebrate evolution from bacteria, this claim was immediately and repeatedly rebutted. Moreover, horizontal transfer is unknown within the evolution of animals, plants and fungi except in the special context of mobile genetic elements. Here we show, however, that standard mitochondrial genes, encoding ribosomal and respiratory proteins, are subject to evolutionarily frequent horizontal transfer between distantly related flowering plants. These transfers have created a variety of genomic outcomes, including gene duplication, recapture of genes lost through transfer to the nucleus, and chimaeric, half-monocot, half-dicot genes. These results imply the existence of mechanisms for the delivery of DNA between unrelated plants, indicate that horizontal transfer is also a force in plant nuclear genomes, and are discussed in the contexts of plant molecular phylogeny and genetically modified plants.     

SOS response promotes horizontal dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes

Mobile genetic elements have a crucial role in spreading antibiotic resistance genes among bacterial populations. Environmental and genetic factors that regulate conjugative transfer of antibiotic resistance genes in bacterial populations are largely unknown. Integrating conjugative elements (ICEs) are a diverse group of mobile elements that are transferred by means of cell-cell contact and integrate into the chromosome of the new host. SXT is a approximately 100-kilobase ICE derived from Vibrio cholerae that encodes genes that confer resistance to chloramphenicol, sulphamethoxazole, trimethoprim and streptomycin. SXT-related elements were not detected in V. cholerae before 1993 but are now present in almost all clinical V. cholerae isolates from Asia. ICEs related to SXT are also present in several other bacterial species and encode a variety of antibiotic and heavy metal resistance genes. Here we show that SetR, an SXT encoded repressor, represses the expression of activators of SXT transfer. The 'SOS response' to DNA damage alleviates this repression, increasing the expression of genes necessary for SXT transfer and hence the frequency of transfer. SOS is induced by a variety of environmental factors and antibiotics, for example ciprofloxacin, and we show that ciprofloxacin induces SXT transfer as well. Thus, we present a mechanism by which therapeutic agents can promote the spread of antibiotic resistance genes.     

High abundance of viruses found in aquatic environments

The concentration of bacteriophages in natural unpolluted waters is in general believed to be low, and they have therefore been considered ecologically unimportant. Using a new method for quantitative enumeration, we have found up to 2.5 x 10(8) virus particles per millilitre in natural waters. These concentrations indicate that virus infection may be an important factor in the ecological control of planktonic micro-organisms, and that viruses might mediate genetic exchange among bacteria in natural aquatic environments.     

The bacterial conjugation protein TrwB resembles ring helicases and F1-ATPase

The transfer of DNA across membranes and between cells is a central biological process; however, its molecular mechanism remains unknown. In prokaryotes, trans-membrane passage by bacterial conjugation, is the main route for horizontal gene transfer. It is the means for rapid acquisition of new genetic information, including antibiotic resistance by pathogens. Trans-kingdom gene transfer from bacteria to plants or fungi and even bacterial sporulation are special cases of conjugation. An integral membrane DNA-binding protein, called TrwB in the Escherichia coli R388 conjugative system, is essential for the conjugation process. This large multimeric protein is responsible for recruiting the relaxosome DNA-protein complex, and participates in the transfer of a single DNA strand during cell mating. Here we report the three-dimensional structure of a soluble variant of TrwB. The molecule consists of two domains: a nucleotide-binding domain of alpha/beta topology, reminiscent of RecA and DNA ring helicases, and an all-alpha domain. Six equivalent protein monomers associate to form an almost spherical quaternary structure that is strikingly similar to F1-ATPase. A central channel, 20 A in width, traverses the hexamer.     

Human gut microbiome viewed across age and geography

Gut microbial communities represent one source of human genetic and metabolic diversity. To examine how gut microbiomes differ among human populations, here we characterize bacterial species in fecal samples from 531 individuals, plus the gene content of 110 of them. The cohort encompassed healthy children and adults from the Amazonas of Venezuela, rural Malawi and US metropolitan areas and included mono- and dizygotic twins. Shared features of the functional maturation of the gut microbiome were identified during the first three years of life in all three populations, including age-associated changes in the genes involved in vitamin biosynthesis and metabolism. Pronounced differences in bacterial assemblages and functional gene repertoires were noted between US residents and those in the other two countries. These distinctive features are evident in early infancy as well as adulthood. Our findings underscore the need to consider the microbiome when evaluating human development, nutritional needs, physiological variations and the impact of westernization.     

Structure, function and diversity of the healthy human microbiome

Studies of the human microbiome have revealed that even healthy individuals differ remarkably in the microbes that occupy habitats such as the gut, skin and vagina. Much of this diversity remains unexplained, although diet, environment, host genetics and early microbial exposure have all been implicated. Accordingly, to characterize the ecology of human-associated microbial communities, the Human Microbiome Project has analysed the largest cohort and set of distinct, clinically relevant body habitats so far. We found the diversity and abundance of each habitat's signature microbes to vary widely even among healthy subjects, with strong niche specialization both within and among individuals. The project encountered an estimated 81-99% of the genera, enzyme families and community configurations occupied by the healthy Western microbiome. Metagenomic carriage of metabolic pathways was stable among individuals despite variation in community structure, and ethnic/racial background proved to be one of the strongest associations of both pathways and microbes with clinical metadata. These results thus delineate the range of structural and functional configurations normal in the microbial communities of a healthy population, enabling future characterization of the epidemiology, ecology and translational applications of the human microbiome.     

Structural identification of a bacterial quorum-sensing signal containing boron

Cell-cell communication in bacteria is accomplished through the exchange of extracellular signalling molecules called autoinducers. This process, termed quorum sensing, allows bacterial populations to coordinate gene expression. Community cooperation probably enhances the effectiveness of processes such as bioluminescence, virulence factor expression, antibiotic production and biofilm development. Unlike other autoinducers, which are specific to a particular species of bacteria, a recently discovered autoinducer (AI-2) is produced by a large number of bacterial species. AI-2 has been proposed to serve as a 'universal' signal for inter-species communication. The chemical identity of AI-2 has, however, proved elusive. Here we present the crystal structure of an AI-2 sensor protein, LuxP, in a complex with autoinducer. The bound ligand is a furanosyl borate diester that bears no resemblance to previously characterized autoinducers. Our findings suggest that addition of naturally occurring borate to an AI-2 precursor generates active AI-2. Furthermore, they indicate a potential biological role for boron, an element required by a number of organisms but for unknown reasons.     

鸡源致病性大肠杆菌的分离鉴定及药敏试验

为了解鸡源致病性大肠杆菌的生物学特性和耐药性,试验通过采集病料、细菌分离培养、16S rRNA基因鉴定、致病性试验、药敏试验等方法。结果表明:分离出的20株细菌的培养特征、镜检特征均符合大肠杆菌特征;16S rRNA基因序列经BLAST比对与大肠杆菌同源性达99.9%～100%,确定20株分离菌为鸡源大肠杆菌;20株大肠杆菌的致病力为40%～100%;10株鸡源致病性大肠杆菌对15种抗菌药物均呈现多重耐药,耐药率为33.3%～93.3%,耐药情况较严重和复杂。     

分子生态学方法对油藏细菌群落结构分析的比较

目前对油藏细菌群落结构分析方法繁多,为得到准确全面的群落分析结果,必须选取合适的方法。群落分析方法的优劣进行比较分析,选取从新疆陆梁油田注水井筛出的11株单菌,测定其16srDNA序列,制成包含7个菌属、9个菌种的混合菌液。应用基于PCR扩增的三种分子生态技术DGGE、T-RFLP、建立16SrDNA文库比较和分析了混合菌液细菌多样性。使用PCR-DGGE方法时发现,DGGE方法可灵敏地检测到序列1 bp的变化,能将不同菌株分开,但该方法经过切胶测序后的的目标序列较短,信息量不大且有时有一定误差,较适合用于定性对比;而用于菌群结构的分析时应结合其他方法。T-RFLP法可区分大部分菌属,但数据库不够完整,不能确定细菌群落组成;因此也不适合单独用在细菌群落检测中,可用作多个样品种群多样性的对比或结合其他方法对样品进行系统透彻解析。建立16srDNA克隆文库法成功鉴定到7个菌属8个菌种16SrDNA序列,更适用于油藏细菌群落结构的分析。     

Do genealogical patterns in purple photosynthetic bacteria reflect interspecific gene transfer?

It is generally thought that interspecific (lateral) transfer of genes is so extensive among bacteria that it is difficult, and perhaps impossible, to determine their phylogenetic relationships. Ambler and coworkers reflect this in their suggestion that the relationships seen among cytochrome c sequences of the Rhodospirillaceae are merely the result of a haphazard lateral transfer of the particular gene, and give no indication of the true bacterial phylogenies. However, if comparative analysis of several unrelated macromolecules yields essentially the same phylogenetic tree, then that pattern is extremely unlikely to reflect the lateral transfer of genes. We have also determined 16S ribosomal RNA catalogues for many of the Rhodospirillaceae in investigated by Ambler et al. and here we use these two sets of data to compare molecular phylogenies for these bacteria.     

Lateral gene transfer and the nature of bacterial innovation

Unlike eukaryotes, which evolve principally through the modification of existing genetic information, bacteria have obtained a significant proportion of their genetic diversity through the acquisition of sequences from distantly related organisms. Horizontal gene transfer produces extremely dynamic genomes in which substantial amounts of DNA are introduced into and deleted from the chromosome. These lateral transfers have effectively changed the ecological and pathogenic character of bacterial species.     

Niche lability in the evolution of a Caribbean lizard community

Niche conservatism--the tendency for closely related species to be ecologically similar--is widespread. However, most studies compare closely related taxa that occur in allopatry; in sympatry, the stabilizing forces that promote niche conservatism, and thus inhibit niche shifts, may be countered by natural selection favouring ecological divergence to minimize the intensity of interspecific interactions. Consequently, the relative importance of niche conservatism versus niche divergence in determining community structure has received little attention. Here, we examine a tropical lizard community in which species have a long evolutionary history of ecological interaction. We find that evolutionary divergence overcomes niche conservatism: closely related species are no more ecologically similar than expected by random divergence and some distantly related species are ecologically similar, leading to a community in which the relationship between ecological similarity and phylogenetic relatedness is very weak. Despite this lack of niche conservatism, the ecological structuring of the community has a phylogenetic component: niche complementarity only occurs among distantly related species, which suggests that the strength of ecological interactions among species may be related to phylogeny, but it is not necessarily the most closely related species that interact most strongly.     

同域培养下大肠杆菌氮、磷含量的进化趋异研究

利用9株具有不同进化背景的大肠杆菌构成5个短期可竞争共存的祖先配对,在限制氮、磷资源的环境下,对5个进化组下6个重复家系进行了约1 100世代的选择实验,考察了这些细菌在进化前后菌体氮、磷质量分数w的变化,并评估了这些性状的趋异程度.研究发现:后代细菌w(氮)的变动范围在13.1%~14.2%,而w(磷)为1.70%~1.95%;不同进化组内,细菌氮、磷含量改变的模式不同;同域后代细菌的趋异模式也并不相同.推测细菌进化本身可能会产生许多独特的性状,连同生态相互作用一起,增加了结果的复杂性,需要在更精细的水平上寻找产生这种结果的原因.     

生态力概念

生态力指生物与环境之间物流、能流和信息流的驱动力。生态内力是生物的生理代谢活动能力，它把从环境中吸入的物、能转化为生物本体的物、能，并将部分内在的物、能输出体外，显示了生物本身的活力和生产力；生态外力则是环境综合作用向生物输送物、能的力量。生态内力与生态外力之和称为生态合力，它是生态动态平衡的指标，表示环境条件的适宜程度。生态力的研究尚属起步，其概念、理论和方法有待进一步发展和完善。     

野生树鼩可培养细菌和真菌携带情况的调查

目的对树鼩携带的可培养微生物群系进行初步调研,为制定树鼩的微生物学等级标准提供依据。方法采集61只野生树鼩呼吸道分泌物、肠道内容物和体表毛发,接种于多种培养基进行细菌分离培养,并进行生化、药敏和16SrRNA测序鉴定。结果在所采集的样品中共分离和检测到可培养的16个科32个属56种细菌及10个属的11种真菌;以肠杆菌属、葡萄球菌属、链球菌属和支原体属的携带率最高。其中常见病原菌有甲型副伤寒沙门氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、嗜肺巴斯德杆菌、肺炎链球菌、空肠弯曲菌、弗劳地柠檬酸杆菌、鲍氏志贺菌和支原体等。结论树鼩携带细菌和真菌的属种丰富、复杂,存在着多种人兽共患疫病的病原微生物。