RT Journal Article
T1 Evolution of ColE1-like plasmids across γ-Proteobacteria: From bacteriocin production to antimicrobial resistance
A1 Ares Arroyo, Manuel
A1 Rocha, Eduardo P. C.
A1 González Zorn, Bruno
AB Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major threats to Public Health worldwide. Understanding the transfer and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes mediated by mobile genetic elements is thus urgent. In this work, we focus on the ColE1-like plasmid family, whose distinctive replication and multicopy nature has given rise to key discoveries and tools in molecular biology. Despite being massively used, the hosts, functions, and evolutionary history of these plasmids remain poorly known. Here, we built specific Hidden Markov Model(HMM) profiles to search ColE1 replicons within genomes. We identified 1,035 ColE1 plasmids in five Orders of γ-Proteobacteria, several of which are described here for the first time. The phylogenetic analysis of these replicons and their characteristic MOBP5/HEN relaxases suggest that ColE1 plasmids have diverged apart, with little transfer across orders, but frequent transfer across families. Additionally, ColE1 plasmids show a functional shift over the last decades, losing their characteristic bacteriocin production while gaining several antimicrobial resistance genes, mainly enzymatic determinants and including several extended-spectrum betalactamases and carbapenemases. Furthermore, ColE1 plasmids facilitate the intragenomic mobilization of these determinants, as various replicons were identified co-integrated with large non-ColE1 plasmids, mostly via transposases. These results illustrate how families of plasmids evolve and adapt their gene repertoires to bacterial adaptive requirements
AB The extraordinary adaptability of bacteria and the massive prevalence of mobile genetic elements within populations has turned antimicrobial resistance into a growing threat to Public Health. Among all the mobile genetic elements, plasmids have been the focus of attention as these extrachromosomal molecules of DNA are able to mobilize several antimicrobial resistance genes at once through conjugation. However, although small mobilizable and non-conjugative replicons have been traditionally overlooked when analyzing plasmid-mediated antimicrobial resistance, they have recently been described as important carriers of AMR genes. In this work, we have analyzed the ColE1-like plasmid family, whose study has been neglected even if they are one of the main groups of small plasmids in natural populations of Proteobacteria. We observed that these plasmids have evolved for a long time within γ-Proteobacteria acquiring different genetic features in specific hosts, being major players in the spread of antimicrobial resistance determinants.
PB Public Library of Science
YR 2021
FD 2021
LK https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/130353
UL https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/130353
LA eng
NO Ares-Arroyo M, Rocha EPC, Gonzalez-Zorn B (2021) Evolution of ColE1-like plasmids across γ-Proteobacteria: From bacteriocin production to antimicrobial resistance. PLoS Genet 17(11): e1009919. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1009919
NO European Commission
NO Universidad Complutense de Madrid
NO Labex IBEID
DS Docta Complutense
RD 18 mar 2026