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Title: Genome Sequence of the Saprophyte Leptospira Biflexa Provides Insights into the Evolution of Leptospira and the Pathogenesis of Leptospirosis

Author
item PICARDEAU, MATHIEU - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item BULACH, DIETER - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA
item BOUCHIER, CHRISTIANE - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item Zuerner, Richard
item ZIDANE, NORA - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item WILSON, PETER - UNIV. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRAL
item CRENO, SOPHIE - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item KUCZEK, ELIZABETH - UNIV. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRAL
item BOMMEZZADRI, SIMONA - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item DAVIS, JOHN - UNIV. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRAL
item MCGRATH, ANNETTE - UNIV. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRAL
item ROCHE, DAVID - GENOSCOPE, FRANCE
item JOHNSON, MATTHEW - UNIV. QUEENSLAND, AUSTRAL
item BOURSAUX-EUDE, CAROLINE - INSTITUT PASTEUR, FRANCE
item SEEMANN, TORSTEN - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA
item ROUY, ZOE - GENOSCOPE, FRANCE
item COPPEL, ROSS - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA
item ROOD, JULIAN - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA
item LAJUS, AURELIE - GENOSCOPE, FRANCE
item DAVIES, JOHN - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA
item MEDIGUE, CLAUDINE - GENOSCOPE, FRANCE
item ADLER, BEN - MONASH UNIV., AUSTRALIA

Submitted to: PLOS ONE
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/17/2008
Publication Date: 2/13/2008
Citation: Picardeau, M., Bulach, D.M., Bouchier, C., Zuerner, R.L., Zidane, N., Wilson, P.J., Creno, S., Kuczek, E.S., Bommezzadri, S., Davis, J.C., Mcgrath, A., Roche, D., Johnson, M.J., Boursaux-Eude, C., Seemann, T., Rouy, Z., Coppel, R.L., Rood, J.I., Lajus, A., Davies, J.K., Medigue, C., Adler, B. 2008. Genome Sequence of the Saprophyte Leptospira Biflexa Provides Insights into the Evolution of Leptospira and the Pathogenesis of Leptospirosis. PLoS One. 3(2):e1607. Available: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0001607.

Interpretive Summary: Leptospira biflexa is a free-living spirochete found broadly distributed in aquatic environments, and is the primary model for studying gene function in Leptospira spp. To gain insight into the genetic potential of Leptospira and to help identify genes that contribute to long-term survival in surface water, we determined the genome sequence of L. biflexa, the first saprophytic Leptospira species to be characterized by genome analysis. Comparison of these data to genomes of pathogenic species L. borgpetersenii, and L. interrogans provides an opportunity to identify features that are unique to pathogenic and saprophytic species, thereby providing novel perspectives on leptospiral evolution, environmental persistence and the causation of disease.

Technical Abstract: Leptospira biflexa is a free-living spirochete found broadly distributed in aquatic environments, and is the primary model for studying gene function in Leptospira spp. The L. biflexa genome has 3,590 protein-coding genes (excluding transposases) distributed across three circular replicons: two of which are chromosomes (3,604- and 278-kb in size), and a third 74-kb replicon of unknown function. Comparative sequence analysis suggests that L. biflexa is an appropriate model to study Leptospira evolution; we conclude that 2,189 genes represent a progenitor genome that existed before divergence of pathogenic and saprophytic Leptospira species. Although mechanisms for genetic exchange are poorly defined for this genus, nearly one-third of the L. biflexa genome is composed of genes that are lacking in pathogenic Leptospira genomes, most of which appear to be the result of lateral transfer from other aquatic bacteria. We suggest that once incorporated into the L. biflexa genome, laterally transferred DNA undergoes minimal rearrangement due to physical restrictions imposed by a high gene density and the presence of few transposable elements. In contrast, the genomes of pathogenic Leptospira species undergo frequent rearrangements, often involving recombination between insertion sequences. Identification of several genes common to L. borgpetersenii and L. interrogans, but absent in L. biflexa supports their potential role in pathogenesis. Differences in environmental sensing capacities of L. biflexa, L. borgpetersenii, and L. interrogans are consistent with our model that loss of signal transduction functions in L. borgpetersenii has impaired its survival outside a mammalian host, while L. interrogans has retained many environmental sensory functions that facilitate disease transmission through water.