Publication Date
2024
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Plasmids are mobile genetic elements known to carry secondary metabolic genes that affect the fitness and survival of microbes in the environment. Well-studied cases of plasmidencoded secondary metabolic genes in marine habitats include toxin/antitoxin and antibiotic biosynthesis/resistance genes. Here, we examine metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) from the permanently-stratified water column of the Cariaco Basin for integrated plasmids that encode biosynthetic gene clusters of secondary metabolites (smBGCs). We identify 16 plasmid-borne smBGCs in MAGs associated primarily with Planctomycetota and Pseudomonadota that encode terpenesynthesizing genes, and genes for production of ribosomal and non-ribosomal peptides. These identified genes encode for secondary metabolites that are mainly antimicrobial agents, and hence, their uptake via plasmids may increase the competitive advantage of those host taxa that acquire them. The ecological and evolutionary significance of smBGCs carried by prokaryotes in oxygen-depleted water columns is yet to be fully elucidated.
DOI
10.3390/microorganisms12050929
Journal Title
Microorganisms
Volume (Issue)
12 (5)
Journal ISSN
2076-2607
Recommended Citation
Mara, Paraskevi; Geller-McGrath, David; Suter, Elizabeth A.; Taylor, Gordon T.; Pachiadaki, Maria G.; and Edgcomb, Virginia P., "Plasmid-Borne Biosynthetic Gene Clusters within a Permanently Stratified Marine Water Column" (2024). Faculty Publications: BCES. 1.
https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/bces_facpub/1
Document Version
Publisher's PDF
Publisher's Statement
© 2024 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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