Complete genome sequence of Rickettsia typhi and comparison with sequences of other rickettsiae.

TitleComplete genome sequence of Rickettsia typhi and comparison with sequences of other rickettsiae.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2004
AuthorsMcLeod, MP, Qin, X, Karpathy, SE, Gioia, J, Highlander, SK, Fox, GE, McNeill, TZ, Jiang, H, Muzny, DM, Jacob, LS, Hawes, AC, Sodergren, E, Gill, R, Hume, J, Morgan, M, Fan, G, Amin, AG, Gibbs, RA, Hong, C, Yu, X-J, Walker, DH, Weinstock, GM
JournalJ Bacteriol
Volume186
Issue17
Pagination5842-55
Date Published2004 Sep
ISSN0021-9193
KeywordsChromosome Inversion, DNA, Bacterial, Electron Transport Complex IV, Frameshifting, Ribosomal, Gene Expression Regulation, Bacterial, Gene Rearrangement, Genes, Bacterial, Genes, rRNA, Genome, Bacterial, Genomics, Molecular Sequence Data, Pseudogenes, Rickettsia, Rickettsia conorii, Rickettsia typhi, RNA, Transfer, RNA, Untranslated, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Sequence Homology, Synteny
Abstract

Rickettsia typhi, the causative agent of murine typhus, is an obligate intracellular bacterium with a life cycle involving both vertebrate and invertebrate hosts. Here we present the complete genome sequence of R. typhi (1,111,496 bp) and compare it to the two published rickettsial genome sequences: R. prowazekii and R. conorii. We identified 877 genes in R. typhi encoding 3 rRNAs, 33 tRNAs, 3 noncoding RNAs, and 838 proteins, 3 of which are frameshifts. In addition, we discovered more than 40 pseudogenes, including the entire cytochrome c oxidase system. The three rickettsial genomes share 775 genes: 23 are found only in R. prowazekii and R. typhi, 15 are found only in R. conorii and R. typhi, and 24 are unique to R. typhi. Although most of the genes are colinear, there is a 35-kb inversion in gene order, which is close to the replication terminus, in R. typhi, compared to R. prowazekii and R. conorii. In addition, we found a 124-kb R. typhi-specific inversion, starting 19 kb from the origin of replication, compared to R. prowazekii and R. conorii. Inversions in this region are also seen in the unpublished genome sequences of R. sibirica and R. rickettsii, indicating that this region is a hot spot for rearrangements. Genome comparisons also revealed a 12-kb insertion in the R. prowazekii genome, relative to R. typhi and R. conorii, which appears to have occurred after the typhus (R. prowazekii and R. typhi) and spotted fever (R. conorii) groups diverged. The three-way comparison allowed further in silico analysis of the SpoT split genes, leading us to propose that the stringent response system is still functional in these rickettsiae.

DOI10.1128/JB.186.17.5842-5855.2004
Alternate JournalJ Bacteriol
PubMed ID15317790
PubMed Central IDPMC516817
Grant ListT15 LM007093 / LM / NLM NIH HHS / United States
AI49040 / AI / NIAID NIH HHS / United States
F33-HG02551 / HG / NHGRI NIH HHS / United States
LM07093 / LM / NLM NIH HHS / United States

Similar Publications