Diversity, biology and evolution of IncQ-family plasmids

► IncQ-family plasmids share a unique strand-displacement replication mechanism. ► This replication mechanism was used to identify all sequenced IncQ-family plasmids. ► IncQ-family plasmids so identified were all mobilizable. ► Four IncQ-plasmid subgroups with different mobilization genes were ident...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Plasmid 2012, Vol.67 (1), p.15-34
Main Authors: Loftie-Eaton, Wesley, Rawlings, Douglas E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological Evolution
Broad host-range
Genetic Variation
IncQ
Plasmid evolution
Plasmid mobilization
Plasmid replication
Plasmids - genetics
Replication Origin - genetics
Replicon - genetics
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Summary:► IncQ-family plasmids share a unique strand-displacement replication mechanism. ► This replication mechanism was used to identify all sequenced IncQ-family plasmids. ► IncQ-family plasmids so identified were all mobilizable. ► Four IncQ-plasmid subgroups with different mobilization genes were identified. Plasmids of IncQ-family are distinguished by having a unique strand-displacement mechanism of replication that is capable of functioning in a wide variety of bacterial hosts. In addition, these plasmids are highly mobilizable and therefore very promiscuous. Common features of the replicons have been used to identify IncQ-family plasmids in DNA sequence databases and in this way several unstudied plasmids have been compared to more well-studied IncQ plasmids. We propose that IncQ plasmids can be divided into four subgroups based on a number of mutually supportive criteria. The most important of these are the amino acid sequences of their three essential replication proteins and the observation that the replicon of each subgroup has become fused to four different lineages of mobilization genes. This review of IncQ-family plasmid diversity has highlighted several events in the evolution of these plasmids and raised several questions for further research.
ISSN:0147-619X
1095-9890
DOI:10.1016/j.plasmid.2011.10.001