
Nucleic Acids Research, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 52(20), P. 12565 - 12581
Published: Sept. 23, 2024
Abstract Integrons are genetic elements that increase the evolvability of bacteria by capturing new genes and stockpiling them in arrays. Sedentary chromosomal integrons (SCIs) can be massive highly stabilized structures encoding hundreds genes, whose function remains generally unknown. SCIs have co-evolved with host for aeons intertwined their physiology from a mechanistic point view. But, paradoxically, other aspects, like variable content location within genome, suggest high functional independence. In this work, we explored connection to genome using as model Superintegron (SI), 179-cassette long SCI Vibrio cholerae N16961. We relocated deleted SI SeqDelTA, novel method allows counteract strong stabilization conferred toxin–antitoxin systems array. characterized depth impact V. cholerae’s physiology, measuring fitness, chromosome replication dynamics, persistence, transcriptomics, phenomics, natural competence, virulence resistance against protist grazing. The deletion did not produce detectable effects any condition, proving that—despite millions years co-evolution—SCIs genetically functionally isolated units genomes.
Language: Английский