Plasmid-Borne Biosynthetic Gene Clusters within a Permanently Stratified Marine Water Column
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microorganisms-12-00929.pdf
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1.08 MB
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Author(s)
Mara, Paraskevi
Geller-McGrath, David
Suter, Elizabeth
Taylor, Gordon T.
Pachiadaki, Maria G.
Edgcomb, Virginia P.
Date Issued
May 2, 2024
Journal
Microorganisms
Publisher
MDPI AG
Citation
Mara, P.; Geller-McGrath, D.; Suter, E.; Taylor, G.T.; Pachiadaki, M.G.; Edgcomb, V.P. Plasmid-Borne Biosynthetic Gene Clusters within a Permanently Stratified Marine Water Column. Microorganisms 2024, 12, 929.
Version
Final published version
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 plasmid-encoded 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 terpene-synthesizing 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.
MIT Department
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms12050929
