IS Families/IS6 family

From TnPedia
Revision as of 14:51, 8 March 2021 by TnCentral (talk | contribs)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

General

There are at present nearly 160 family members in ISfinder from nearly 80 bacterial and archaeal species but this represents only a fraction of those present in the public databases. The family was named[1] after the directly repeated insertion sequences in transposon Tn6 [2] to standardize the various names that had been attributed to identical elements (e.g. IS15, IS26, IS46, IS140, IS160, IS176) [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15], including one isolate, IS15, corresponding to an insertion of one iso-IS6 (IS15D) into another [4][5] . More recently there has been some attempt to rename the family as the IS26 family (see [16]), presumably because of accumulating experimental data from IS26 itself and the importance of this IS in accumulation and transmission of multiple anti biotic resistance, although this might potentially introduce confusion in the literature. IS6 family members have a simple organization (Fig. IS6.1) and generate 8bp direct target repeats on insertion. This family is very homogenous with an average length of about 800 bp and highly conserved short, generally perfect, IRs (Fig. IS6.1 and Fig. IS6.2). There are two examples of MITES (Miniature Inverted repeat Transposable Elements composed of both IS ends and no intervening orfs; [17]of 227 and 336 bp), 7 members between 1230 and 1460 bp and three members between 1710 and 1760 bp. One member, IS15, of 1648 bp represents and insertion of one IS into another [3][5].any are found as part of compound transposons (called pseudo-compound transposons [1] described below) invariably as flanking direct repeats (Fig. IS6.1) a consequence of their transposition mechanism [7][9][13][14][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30].

Fig. IS6.1. IS6 family organization. A. Structure of IS6 family. The IS is represented by a yellow bar. Left (IRL) and right (IRR) terminal 14 bp IRs are shown as grey-filled arrows with the DNA sequence below. The 8 bp direct target repeats are shown as black-filled arrows. The transposase open reading frame is shown in purple and its orientation is indicated by the arrowhead. B. A Pseudo-compound transposon (see text for explanation). IS6 family characteristics are as above. A generic antibiotic resistance gene ABr is shown in red.


Fig. IS6.2. The general characteristics of the IS6 family. A. Distribution of IS length (base pairs). The number of examples used in the sample is shown above each column. B. shows the domain structure of IS6 family transposases with a helix-turn-helix domain (HTH) and a catalytic domain with the Characteristic DDE triad followed by a K/R residue, and, in the case of the middle section, an additional zinc finger motif present in the longer members of the family (clade h) while in the right-hand section an additional N-terminal domain is present (clade i). C. Secondary structure prediction of TnpA IS26 by Jpred [113]. D. Left (IRL) and right IRR inverted terminal repeats are shown in WebLogo format [114] (Crooks et al., 2004).

Distribution and Phylogenetic Transposase Tree

A phylogenetic tree based on the transposase amino acid sequence of the ISfinder collection (Fig. IS6.3) shows that the IS6 family members fall into a number of well-defined clades. This slightly more extensive set of IS corresponds well to the results of another wide-ranging phylogenetic analysis [31]. These clades include one which groups all archaeal IS6 family members (Fig. IS6.3 a) composed mainly of Euryarchaeota (Halobacteria ; Fig. IS6.3 ai-iii). Group aiv includes both Euryarchaeota (Thermococcales and Methanococcales) and Crenarchaeota (Sulfolobales). Of the 10 clades containing bacterial IS: clade b includes examples from the Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes ; clade c is more homogenous and is composed of Alphaproteobacteria (Rhizobiaceae and Methylobacteriaceae); clade d includes some Actinobacteria, Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria ; while clades e, f, g and h are composed exclusively of Firmicutes (almost exclusively Lactococci in the case of clades e and f). Clades I and j are more mixed.

Clearly, the ISfinder collection does not necessarily reflect the true IS6 family distribution and these grouping should be interpreted with care. For example, although many do not form part of the ISfinderdatabase, IS6 family elements are abundant in archaea and cover almost all of the traditionally recognized archaeal lineages (methanogens, halophiles, thermoacidophiles, and hyperthermophiles [32] (Fig. IS6.3) .

Fig. IS6.3. A dendrogram of IS6 family members. The figure shows 11 major clades. The surrounding colored circles and the insert indicate the clades identified by [38]. The insert shows the correspondence between the clades from Harmer and Hall and those defined here. Clades: A : composed almost entirely of archea ; Ai: (n=12) is composed of diverse Halobacterial species (Halohasta, Haloferax, Natrinema, Natrialba, Halogeometricum, Natronomonas, Natronococcus, and Haloarcula); Aii: (n = 12) is composed uniquely of Halobacterial Euryarchaeota; Aiii: (n = 5) is composed entirely of Halobacterial Euryarchaeota (Haloarcula, Halomicrobium, Natronomonas, Natronobacterium, Natrinema); Aiv: (n = 9) which includes both Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota; b: (n=16) Actinobacteria, Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria; c: (n= 14) Alphaproteobacteria: Rhizobiaceae and Methylobacteriaceae); d: (n=24) (Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes); e: (n=23) is composed mainly of IS from Lactococcus, a single Leuconostoc and other bacilli (Lysteria, Enterococcus); f: (n = 11) largely Staphylococci with 2 B. thuringiensis; g: (n = 10) is heterogenous (Alpha proteobacteria: Methylobacterium, Paracoccus, Roseovarius, Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium; Deinococci and Halobacteria); h: (n= 5) composed entirely of Firmicutes (Natranaerobius, Clostridium and Thermoanaerobacter) ;  i: (n=3) is composed of Halanaerobia and Thermoanaerobacter. TnpA protein sequences retrieved from ISfinder curated data set were aligned with MAFFT 7.309, and their best-fit evolutionary models were predicted with ProTest 3.2.4. A maximum-likelihood tree was reconstructed with RaxML 8.2.9 using a bootstrap value of 1,000. The final tree was visualized in FigTree 1.4.4 (http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree) and edited with Inkscape 0.92.4 (http://www.inkscape.org).

Terminal Inverted Repeats.

The division into clades is also underlined to some extent by the IR sequences. As shown in Fig. IS6.2 (bottom), in spite of the wide range of bacterial and archaeal species in which family members are found, there is a surprising sequence conservation. In particular, the presence of a G dinucleotide at the IS tips and cTGTt and caaa internal motifs. Sequence motifs are more pronounced when each clade is considered separately (Fig. IS6.4).

  • Clade b

(n=16; Actinobacteria, Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria) includes a well conserved GG..cTGTTGCAAA signature with little conservation further into each end.

  • Clade c

(n= 14; Alphaproteobacteria: Rhizobiaceae and Methylobacteriaceae) shows considerable conservation of an extended motif (GGG... TGTCGCAAA) and some conservation further into both IRL and IRR, although these are different for each end.

  • Clade d

(n=24; with Alpha-, Beta-, and Gamma-proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Cyanobacteria, Acidobacteria and Bacteroidetes) maintains stronger traces of parts of these motifs (GG.. tcTGtt and CAaa).

  • Clade e

(n=23; s composed mainly of IS from Lactococcus, a single Leuconostoc and other bacilli (Lysteria, Enterococcus);

  • Clade f

(n = 11; largely Staphylococci with 2 B. thuringiensis) also exhibit the typical GGTTCTGTTGCAAAGTTt signature and some internal conservation in IRL.

  • Clade g

(n = 10; is more heterogenous (Alpha proteobacteria: Methylobacterium, Paracoccus, Roseovarius, Rhizobium, Bradyrhizobium ; Deinococci and Halobacteria). It contains a poorly conserved IR sequence but does include a prominent gG dinucleotide tip and a poorly pronounced tgtcaagtt signature).

  • Clade h

(n= 5; composed entirely of Firmicutes (Natranaerobius, Clostridium and Thermoanaerobacter) exhibits a moderately well-defined internal signature TcTgTtAAgTt).

  • Clade i

Finally, clade I (n=3) is composed of Halanaerobia and Thermoanaerobacter.


The archaeal-specific clades also generally exhibit well-defined consensus sequences.

  • Clade Ai

Is composed of diverse Halobacterial species (Halohasta, Haloferax, Natrinema, Natrialba, Halogeometricum, Natronomonas, Natronococcus, and Haloarcula): GgcACtGTCTAGtT.

  • Clade Aii

(n = 12) is composed uniquely of Halobacterial Euryarchaeota with a ggtaGTGTTcagatAaG signature and significant internal conservation which is different for each end.

  • Clade Aiii

(n = 5), is composed entirely of Halobacterial Euryarchaeota (Haloarcula, Halomicrobium, Natronomonas, Natronobacterium, Natrinema) also has well conserved ends, ggtcgTGTTTaGTT, and significant internal conservation which is different for each end.

  • Clade Aiv

(n = 9) which includes both Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota, has poor conservation although on further analysis, an alignment shows significant conservation in the Sulfolobus and in the Pyrococcus groups with good interior conservation also in the 3 Pyrococcal members. It is possible that the IS ends in the Sulfolobus members have not been accurately identified.


MCL analysis [33] for the entire group of transposases using the criteria of ISfinder for classification (IS identification) [34] showed that all members fell within the definition of a single family (Inflation factor 1.2, score >30) and fell into 3 groups: clades b-I; clades Ai-Aiii; and Aiv using the appropriate filter (Inflation factor 2, score >140). The answer to the recent question “An analysis of the IS6/IS26 family of insertion sequences: is it a single family?”[31] is therefore “Probably, yes” according to the ISfinder definition.

A recent study [35] identified a number of IS26 variants with specific mutations in their Tpases. In particular one variant, originally called IS15D [4][36] was observed to exhibit enhanced activity and it was suggested that such mutants, even though they satisfy ISfinder criteria attributing a new name for an IS (< 95% nucleotide identity and/or < 98% amino acid identity). It has been suggested that such variant should be suffixed as IS26.v1, .v2 etc. [35]. This makes sense if the mutation is not functionally neutral results in a change IS properties or behavior.


Genomic Impact and Clinical Importance

Activity resulting in horizontal dissemination is suggested, for example, by the observation that copies identical to Mycobacterium fortuitum IS6100 [37] (Clade b) occur in other bacteria: as part of a plasmid-associated catabolic transposon carrying genes for nylon degradation in Arthrobacter sp. [38], from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa plasmid R1003 [39], in integrons of the In4-type integrons from transposons such as Tn1696 [40][41] and within the Xanthomonas campestris transposon Tn5393b [42]. Similar copies have also been reported in Salmonella enterica (typhimurium) [43], and on plasmid pACM1 from Klebsiella oxytoca (AF107205) [44].

Passenger Genes

A number of IS families contain members, called tIS which carry passenger genes. A single member of the family, ISDsp3, present in a single copy in Dehalococcoides sp. BAV1 carries a passenger gene annotated as a hypothetical protein..

Expression of neighboring genes

The formation of hybrid promoters on insertion, where the inserted element provides a -35 promoter component and the flanking sequence carries a -10 promoter component, is clearly a general property of members of the IS6 family [22][45][46][47][48][49].

For example, IS257 [50](Clade f) (also known as IS431) has played an important role in sequestering a variety of antibiotic resistance genes in clinical isolates of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) (e.g. [45][46][51][52]. It provides an outward oriented promoter which drives expression of genes located proximal to the left end. Moreover, both left and right ends appear to carry a –35 promoter component which would permit formation of hybrid promoters on insertion next to a resident –10 element [46][53]. Insertion of can result in activation of a neighboring gene using both a hybrid promoter and an indigenous promoter [46]. IS257 is also involved in expression of tetA [54] and dfrA [45] in S. aureus.. This is also true of IS26 which forms hybrid promoters shown to drive antibiotic resistance genes such as aphA7 ( Pasteurella piscicida [55] Klebsiella pneumoniae [22]), blaSHV-2a (Pseudomonas aeruginosa [56]) and wide spectrum beta-lactam resistance gene blaKPC [57][58]. While IS6100 [37] (Clade b), often used as an aid in classifying mycobacterial isolates [59][60][61] drives strA strB expression in X. campestris pv. vesicatoria [42]

The formation of hybrid promoters on insertion (Table IS and Gene Expression) is clearly a general property of members of the IS6 family [22][45][46][47][48][49].

Pseudo-compound transposons

This IS family is able to form transposons which resemble compound transposons with the flanking IS in direct repeat but, because of the particular transposition mechanism of IS6 family members which involves the formation of cointegrates (see below), were called pseudo-compound transposons ��[1,16]�. These include Tn610 (flanked by IS6100 ��[37]�), Tn4003 and others (flanked by IS257 ��[51,62,63]�), Tn2680 ��[6]� and Tn6023 (flanked by IS26 ��[64]�).

IS26 and the Clinical Landscape

In view of the particular importance of IS26 in clinical settings it is worthwhile devoting a separate section to the contribution of this IS to the clinical landscape. IS26 ��[6–8]�(clade b) is encountered with increasing frequency in plasmids of clinical importance where it is involved in: sequestering antibiotic resistance genes and generating arrays of these genes in clinically important conjugative plasmids and in the host chromosome; expression of antibiotic resistance genes; and other plasmid rearrangements (see ��[28,63,65–70]�).

Recognition of its place as an important player has derived from the large number of sequences now available of multiple antibiotic resistance plasmids and chromosomal segments such as Genomic Resistance Islands (GRI). It is now no longer practical to provide a complete analysis of the literature (A PubMed search (19th November 2020) using IS26 as the search term yielded nearly 450 citations). The references in the following are not exhaustive but simply provide examples.

IS Arrays

IS6 family members are often found in arrays (Fig. IS6.5 and Fig. IS6.6) in direct and inverted repeat in multiple drug resistant plasmids (e.g. Salmonella. typhimurium ��[28,64,71]�, Klebsiella quasipneumoniae ��[72]�, Acinetobacter baumannii ��[68,73]�, Proteus mirabilis ��[74]� and uncultured sewage bacteria ��[75]� (among many others). These are often intercalated in or next to other transposable elements rather than neatly flanking ABR genes and can form units able to undergo tandem amplification.

IS26-mediated Gene Amplification

Early studies with Tn1525 (from Salmonella enterica serovar Panama), in which an aphA1 (aph (3') (5")-I) gene is flanked by two directly repeated copies of a the IS6 family member, IS15, reported tandem amplification of aphA1 when the host was challenged by kanamycin ��[76]�. Restriction enzyme mapping was used to demonstrate that the amplified segments were of the type IS-aph-IS-aph-IS-aph-IS but no direct sequence data is available. Amplification was thought to occur by homologous recombination between two flanking IS15 copies since it occurred in a wildtype host but the transposon was stable in a recA genetic background. Another example was observed following treatment of a patient with Tobramycin in clinical isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii from a single patient over a period of days with continued antibiotic treatment. Amplification occurred with Tn6020, an IS26-based transposon in which the flanking IS bracket a similar aphA1 gene and could also be reproduced in bacterial culture ��[77]�. In this case, the amplified unit was proposed to be IS-aph-IS-IS-aph-IS-IS-aph-IS. This structure would clearly be unusual but may be due to a misinterpretation of the depth of coverage of the region. In addition, the amplified transposon had inserted into a known target prior to amplification generating the expected eight base pair target repeat but an 8bp segment between the first DR and the first IS end (DR-8 bp-ISaph-IS-IS-aph-IS-ISaph-IS…DR). A third example ��[78]� was identified during a study of clinical isolates of non-carbapenemase-producing Carbapenem-Resistant Enterobacteria, non-CP-CRE, isolated from several patients with recurrent bacteraemia. An increase in carbapenem resistance occurred partially due to IS26-mediated amplification up to 10 fold of a DNA segment carrying blaOXA-1 and blaCTX-M-1 genes These form part of a larger chromosomal structure of IS26 arrays which they call TnMB1860 (Fig. IS6.6). It was unclear whether this cassette amplification was due to transposition activity or, as had been observed in similar, IS1-mediated, gene amplifications ��[79–84]� which may occur by replication slippage between direct repeats or by unequal crossing-over ��[85,86]�.

Another example has been revealed by Hastak et al ��[87]� who analysed a multi resistant derivative of the clinically important, globally dispersed pathogenic, Escherichia coli ST131 subclade H30Rx, isolated from a number of bacteraemic patients and revealed that increased piperacillin/tazobactam resistance was due to IS26-mediated amplification of blaTEM-1B. A similar type of limited (tandem dimer) amplification of an IS26-flanked blaSHV-5-carrying DNA segment found in plasmids from a number of geographically diverse enteric species was identified in a nosocomial Enterobacter cloacae strain ��[88]�. More extensive amplification (>10 fold) was observed with the same DNA segment located in a different plasmid in a well-characterised laboratory strain of Escherichia coli and occurred in a recA-independent manner ��[66]� while even higher levels of tandem amplification (~65 fold) of the aphA1 gene in the IS26-based Tn6020 were identified in Acinetobacter baumannii ��[77]�.


IS26-mediated Plasmid Cointegration

The earliest studies on this family of IS demonstrated that they could generate cointegrates as part of the transposition mechanism (see Cointegrate formation below) ��[5,7,9,12,13,30]�.

Several studies have now demonstrated that this can occur in a clinical setting. For example, plasmid pBK32533 (KP345882)��[89]�, carried by E. coli BK32533 isolated from a patient with a urinary tract infection is an IS26-mediated cointegrate between Klebsiella pneumoniae BK30661 plasmid pBK30661 (KF954759)��[90]� and a relative of Salmonella enterica p1643_10 (KF056330)��[91]�. Interestingly, the flanks of the IS26 copies at the junction of the two plasmids are TGTTTTTT-IS-TTATTAAT and TTATTAAT-IS-TGTTTTTT. The most parsimonious explanation would be that pBK32533 was generated in a multi-step inter-molecular transposition event: in one step, an IS26 copy from an unknown source used a TTATTAAT target sequence in pBK30661 and this cointegrate was then resolved resulting in pBK30661 containing an IS26 copy flanked by the target repeat (TTATTAAT-IS26-TTATTAAT) and, in a second step, a TGTTTTTT sequence in p1643_10 was targeted by the pBK30661 IS26 to generate the final cointegrate in which the two IS26 copies are flanked by the observed target sequences. Additional examples have been identified in KPC-producing Proteus mirabilis ��[74]� and in Klebsiella pneumoniae also involving inversions [70,92]


Organization

IS6 family members range in length from 789 bp (IS257) to 880 bp (IS6100) (Fig. IS6.2A) and generally create 8 bp direct flanking target repeats (DR) on insertion. ��[6]�.

The transposase

A single transposase orf is transcribed from a promoter at the left end and stretches across almost the entire IS. The putative transposases (Tpases) are between 213 (IS15) and 254 (IS6100) amino acids long with a majority in the 220-250 amino acid range. They are very closely related and show identity levels ranging from 40 to 94% with a helix-turn-helix (HTH) and a typical catalytic motif (DDE) (Fig. IS6.2C and IS6.7). However, the 7 members of clade h, all from Clostridia, are somewhat larger than other IS6 family members (approximately 1200bp, Fig. IS6.2A) with longer transposases (340-350 amino acids) as a consequence of an N-terminal extension with a predicted Zinc Finger (ZF) an N-terminal extension with a predicted Zinc Finger (ZF) composed of several CxxC motifs (Fig. IS6.2B; Fig. IS6.7). A Blast analysis of the non-redundant protein database at NCBI revealed a large number of IS6 family transposases of this type (data not shown). The vast majority of these were from Clostridial species. In addition, the transposases of members of clade i (450 amino acids) have both the ZF domain and a supplementary N-terminal extension.

Several members (e.g. ISRle39a, ISRle39b and ISEnfa1) apparently require a frameshift for Tpase expression. It is at present unclear whether this is biologically relevant. However, alignment with similar sequences in the public databases suggests that ISEnfa1 itself has an insertion of 10 nucleotides and is therefore unlikely to be active.

Transposase expression

In the case of IS26, the promoter is located within the first 82 bp of the left end and the intact orf is required for transposition activity ��[8]�, and the predicted amino acid sequence of the corresponding protein exhibits a strong DDE motif (Fig. IS6.2C; Fig. IS6.7) Translation products of this frame have been demonstrated for IS240 ��[26]�. Little is known concerning the control of transposase expression although transposition activity of IS6100 in Streptomyces lividans ��[93]� is significantly increased when the element is placed downstream from a strong promoter. This is surprising since IS generally incorporate mechanisms to restrict transposition induced by insertion into highly transcribed genes (see Fig 1.32.1).

Terminal Inverted Repeats

All carry short related (15-20 bp) terminal IR. As shown in Fig. 2D, in spite of the wide range of bacterial and archaeal species in which family members are found, there is a surprising sequence conservation. In particular, the presence of a G dinucleotide at the IS tips and cTGTt and caaa internal motifs (where uppercase letters are fully conserved and lowercase letters are strongly conserved nucleotides). Sequence motifs are more pronounced when each clade is considered separately (Fig. IS6.4).


Mechanism: the state of play

Early studies suggested that IS6 family members give rise exclusively to replicon fusions (cointegrates) in which the donor and target replicons are separated by two directly repeated IS copies (e.g. IS15D, IS26, IS257, IS1936) ��[5,7,9,13,94]�. More recent results principally with IS26 have suggested that this IS perhaps like IS1 (IS1 family) ��[95]� and IS903 (IS5 family) ��[96,97]�, members of this family may be able to transpose using alternative pathways ��[16,98–100]�.

Cointegrate formation

Transposition of IS6 family elements to generate cointegrates ��[5,9,11,12]� presumably occurs in a replicative manner by Target Primed Transposon Replication (For a discussion see “Influence of transposition mechanisms on genome impact”; Fig 17.1 and Fig. 17.2). As shown in Fig. IS6.8 (top), intermolecular replicative transposition of this type generates fused donor and target replicons which are separated by two copies of the IS in direct repeat at the replicon boundaries. The initial direct repeats (DR) flanking the donor IS are distributed between each daughter IS in the cointegrate as is the DR generated in the target site. Recombination between the two IS then regenerates the donor molecule with the original DRs and a target molecule in which the IS is flanked by new DR. No known specific resolvase system such as that found in Tn3-related elements (see IS Derivatives of Tn3 family transposons) has been identified in this family but “Resolution” of IS6-mediated cointegrates was observed to depend on a functional recA gene in several cases and therefore occurs using the host homologous recombination pathway ��[5,9]�.

A systematic analysis of the cointegrate forming properties of an artificial IS26-based pseudo-compound transposon with a chloramphenicol transacetylase passenger gene has demonstrated that if the inside ends of the two flanking IS are ablated, the full-length transposon can promote cointegrate formation at a low frequency. The sequence of the resulting cointegrates confirmed that the donor and target replicons were separated by a copy of the entire transposon at each junction with the appropriate 8 base pair target duplication (He et al., pers. comm).

While the intermolecular cointegrate pathway leads to replicon fusion, transposition can also occur within the same replicon. Intramolecular transposition using the replicative mechanism gives rise to deletion or inversion of DNA located between the IS and its target site. The outcome depends on the orientation of the two attacking IS ends (Fig. IS6.9). Intramolecular transposition of this type can explain the assembly of antibiotic resistance gene clusters (e.g. ��[70]�).

IS6 family members are known to generate structures that resemble composite transposons in which a passenger gene (such as a gene specifying antibiotic resistance) is flanked by two IS copies. Generally, other flanking IS in compound structures can occur as direct or inverted repeat copies (IS history; Fig 2.3, Fig. 2.4). However, in the case of IS6 functional “compound transposons”, the flanking IS are always found as direct repeats. This is a direct consequence of the (homologous) recombination event required to resolve the cointegrate structure ��[5,9]�. As shown in Fig. IS6.8 (bottom) ��[101]�, transposition is initiated by one of the flanking IS to generate a cointegrate structure with three IS copies. “Resolution” resulting in transfer of the transposon passenger gene requires recombination between the “new” IS copy and the copy which was not involved in generating the cointegrate. The implications of this model ��[1]���[101]� are that the transposon passenger gene(s) are simply transferred from donor to target molecules in the “resolution” event and are therefore lost from the donor “transposon”. Clearly this pathway could initiate from a donor in which the flanking IS6 family members were inverted with respect to each other. However, transposition would be arrested at the cointegrate stage because there is no suitable second IS to participate in recombination. It is for this reason that compound IS6-based transposons carry directly repeated flanking IS copies. These previously published models (e.g. ��[1,70,92,101]� have been revisited and it has been recently proposed ��[16]� that the term pseudo-compound transposons first used over 30 years ago ��[1]� should be resurrected to describe these IS6 family structures.

Circular transposon molecules: translocatable units (TU)

Although IS26 transposition appears to be replicative with formation of cointegrate molecules, results from in vivo experiments suggest that its transposition may be more complex ��[100]�. The idea that IS26 might mobilize DNA in an unusual way arose from the observation that IS6 family members can often be found in the form of arrays ��[99,100]� which could be interpreted as overlapping pseudo-compound transposons ��[16]� (Fig. IS6.5). Note that IS26 and potential IS26-based transposons do not necessarily carry flanking direct target repeats but, as is the case for other TE, which transpose by replicative transposition such as members of the Tn3 family, intramolecular transposition would lead to loss of the flanking repeats (Fig. IS6.9). This led to the suggestion that IS26 might be able to transpose via a novel circular form called translocatable units (TU) ��[99,100]� (not to be confused with those originally described in the sea urchin and other eukaryotes ��[102]�) such as those shown in Fig. IS6.10. These potential circular transposition intermediates which were proposed to include a single IS26 copy along with neighboring DNA are structurally similar to IS1-based circles observed in the 1970s (e.g. ��[79,82]�). Translocatable units differ from the transposon circles identified during copy-out-paste-in transposition by IS of the IS3 (Fig. IS3. 9A; IS3 family transposition pathway), IS21 (Fig. IS21.7), IS30, IS256 and ISL3 families where the circular IS transposition intermediate has abutted left and right ends separated by a few base pairs and is extremely reactive to the cognate transposase. In stark contrast, for IS26, the IS ends would be separated by the neighboring DNA sequence rather than by a few base pairs (Fig. IS6.11).

Evidence for the excision step of translocatable units was obtained ��[99]� from the study of the stability of two IS26-based pseudo-compound transposons, “wildtype” Tn4352 ��[25]� and “mutant” Tn4352B ��[103]� which carry the aphA1 gene specifying resistance to kanamycin. Tn4352B is a special mutant derivative of Tn4352 including an additional GG dinucleotide at the left internal end of one of the component IS26 copies to generate a string of 5 G nucleotides at the IS tip which appears to render the transposon unstable. Cells carrying the plasmid lose the resistance gene from the mutant Tn4352B at an appreciable rate in the absence of selection. This generates a “donor” plasmid with one copy of IS26 flanked by the original Tn4352B-associated 8bp direct repeats and an excision product with the size expected for a TU containing the second IS flanked by the sequences of the original central segment presumably including the additional GG dinucleotide together with the aphA1 gene. TU formation, as judged by a PCR reaction, appeared to be dependent on the GG insertion (since, surprisingly, no TU could be detected from the wildtype Tn4352) but not on the surrounding sequence environment. Excision required an active transposase. In a test in which the target plasmid also carried an IS26 copy (a targeted integration reaction – see below), there appeared to be no difference in cointegrate formation frequencies between single IS26 copies with or without the additional GG dinucleotide. However, results from a standard integration test into a plasmid without a resident IS26 copy were not reported. The excision process occurs in a recA background and therefore does not require the host homologous recombination system. Moreover, frameshift mutations in both IS, which should produce severely truncated transposase, eliminated activity. This implies that the process is dependent on transposition. However, excision continued to occur if the transposase of the GG-IS copy was inactivated but was eliminated when the same transposase mutation was introduced into the ”wildtype” IS copy. This is curious since it implies that the IS26 transposase must act exclusively in cis on the IS from which it is expressed (see Co-translational binding and multimerization).

A summary of these results is shown in Fig. IS6.10. These data suggest that excision is driven by the wildtype IS26 (L), leaving the right hand IS in the excisant. At present, there is no obvious mechanistic explanation for this phenomenon. It should be noted that recombination between directly repeated copies of IS1 which flank the majority of ABR genes in the plasmid R100.1 (NR1) generates a non-replicative circular molecule, the r-determinant (r-det), with a single IS1 copy. In this case too, this “constitutive” circle production is due to a (uncharacterized) mutation in the plasmid, although in this case, circle production requires recA ��[104]�.

However, “Classical” recombination and transposition models do not fit the data The results appear to rule out two obvious models (Fig. IS6.11): since, although both would generate the correct TU and “excisant”, the first (top panel) requires homologous recombination between two directly repeated IS26 copies (mechanistically equivalent to the “resolution” step in intermolecular IS6 transposition) and the second (bottom panel), which requires a functional transposase as observed ��[99,100]�, would not generate the correct flanking sequences. Modification of the transposition model to take into account the entire transposon (Fig. IS6.12) in which the active IS26L uses either of flanking sequences of IS26R does not generate the correct structures. Thus the observed structures must be generated by another, and at present unknown, pathway. One possibility is that TU are generated by reversing a non-replicative targeted insertion mechanism presented below (Fig. IS6.14; see Targeted Transposition).


Fig. IS6.12. Two Models for TU formation from the Pseudo-compound Transposon Tn4325B. Symbols are as in the previous figures. The small filled circle within one of the internal IS flanks (white arrow) indicates the additional GG dinucleotide carried by Tn4325B. Both use an intramolecular replicative transposition pathway in a cis configuration. In the top panel, the wildtype IS uses the flank of the mutated IS as a target. This would generate a TU with a single IS and both internal flanking sequences and an excisant with two tandem IS copies separated by a mutant flank. In the lower panel, the TU carries two tandem IS copies and the excisant.


To summarize: it has been clearly demonstrated that circular DNA species carrying a single IS26 copy together with flanking “passenger” DNA can be generated efficiently in vivo from a variant plasmid replicon ��[103]� and also that replicons carrying a single IS26 copy are capable of integrating into a second replicon to form a cointegrate. This occurs at a frequency 102-fold higher if the target plasmid contains a single IS copy and in a targeted manner not involving IS duplication.

The TU insertion pathway was addressed by transforming TU, constructed in vitro taking advantage of a unique IS26 restriction site, into recombination deficient cells carrying an appropriate target plasmid ��[98]�. Establishment of the aphA1-carrying TU was dependent on the presence of a resident plasmid carrying an IS26 copy and occurred next to the resident IS26 copy. The DNA of two TU each with a different antibiotic resistance gene was shown to undergo this type of targeted integration and, moreover, were able to consecutively insert to generate a typical IS26 array. Therefore, artificially produced TU are capable of insertion.

Targeted transposition.

Targeted IS26 transposition, was also observed in intermolecular cointegrate formation where cointegrate formation frequency was significantly increased about 100 fold if the target replicon also contained an IS26 copy ��[100]�. A similar result was obtained in Escherichia coli with a related IS, IS1216 ��[105]� whereas a third member of the family, IS257 (IS431) showed a much lower level of activity using the same assay. As for TU integration, this phenomenon does not appear to be the result of homologous recombination between the IS copies carried by donor and target molecules since the reaction was independent of RecA. Using a PCR-based assay to identify the replicon fusions between IS26-containing donor and target plasmids, it was observed that the resulting cointegrate (Fig. IS6.13) did not contain an additional copy of IS26 which would be expected if replicative transposition were involved (Fig. IS6.12). This suggests that the phenomenon results from a conservative recombination mechanism. Despite the absence of RecA, the observed cointegrate is structurally equivalent to the recombination product between the two IS26 copies in the donor and target plasmids. However, it indeed appears to be transposition related since the phenomenon requires an active transposase in both donor and target replicons ��[100]�. When each of the triad of conserved DDE residues were mutated individually in the donor plasmid, the targeted insertion frequency decreased significantly.

Another characteristic of the products was that the flanking 8 bp repeats carried by the donor and recipient IS26 copies are in some way exchanged ��[100]� (Fig. IS6.13). This suggests a model in which transposase might catalyze an exchange of flanking DNA during the fusion process.


Fig. IS6.13. IS26 Non-replicative Targeted Transposition. Symbols are identical to those in previous figures. The diagram shows the fate of flanking sequences following a targeted integration event resulting in the formation of a cointegrate.


A Model for Targeted Integration

One possibility (Fig. IS6.13) is that two IS ends from different IS copies in separate replicons are synapsed intermolecularly in the same transpososome (Fig. IS6.14 i). Strand exchange would then couple the donor and target replicons (Fig. IS6.14 ii). A similar mechanism has been invoked to explain “targeted” insertion of IS3 and IS30 family members into related IRs (Fig. IS3.14) ��[106,107]�. Branch migration (Fig. IS6.14 iii) would lead to exchange of an entire IS strand (Fig. IS4.13 iv) and cleavage at the distal IS end and strand transfer (Fig. IS6.14 v) would result in the observed cointegrate (Fig. IS6.14 vi) containing a single strand nick on opposite strands at each end of the donor DNA molecule. These could simply be repaired or eliminated by plasmid replication. Each IS would be composed of complementary DNA strands from each of the original donor and target IS copies. This proposed mechanism would retain the DNA flanks of the IS in the original target replicon, be dependent on an active transposase and independent of the host recA system. It seems probable that mismatches between the two participant IS would inhibit the strand migration reaction. This may be the reason for the observation that introducing a frameshift mutation by insertion of additional bases into the transposase gene of either participating IS26 copy reduces the frequency of targeted cointegration ��[100]� since, not only does this produce a truncated transposase but also introduces a mismatch. As in the case of intermolecular targeting of the IS3 family member, IS911 ��[108]�, might require the RegG helicase to promote strand migration.

The model shown in Fig. IS6.14 presents the transposition process as a progression involving two consecutive, temporally separated, strand cleavages interrupted by a strand migration. However, it seems equally probable that both cleavage reactions are coordinated within a single transpososome (The Transpososome) including both donor IS ends and the target IS ends. This would be compatible with the known properties of trans cleavage of several transposases in which a transposase molecule bound to one transposon end catalyses cleavage of the opposite end (Cleavage in Trans: A Committed Complex). Recently, evidence have been presented supporting this type of model ��[109]�. Using two IS, IS1006 and IS1008 ��[110]� which have significant identity to IS26, at their ends together with a hybrid molecule IS1006/1008 constructed in vitro, it was shown that targeted integration required both identical transposases and identical DNA sequences at the reacting ends. The authors propose a model in which a single IS end is cleaved and transferred to the flank of the target IS end, an event which creates a Holliday junction which, on branch migration, is resolved. This differs from the model shown here (Fig. IS6.14) since it does not involve transposase-mediated cleavage at the second IS end. It is similar to that proposed for targeted insertion of IS911 ��[106,108,111,112]� which requires the RecG helicase and, presumably RuvC.


Fig. IS6.14. A model for IS26-mediated conservative targeted integration. i) Two IS ends from different IS copies in separate replicons are synapsed intermolecularly in the same transpososome, one end is cleaved to generate a 3’OH (shown as a dark blue circle) leaving a 5’ and on the flank (3 white boxes). This attacks the end of the second IS in the transpososome (shown as two dotted circles joined by a dotted line). ii) strand transfer would then couple the donor and target replicons via the target IS flank (3 bright red squares) leaving a 3’OH on the target IS (light blue circle). iii) strand migration can then occur in which one strand of the door IS and one strand of the target IS invade their partners. iv) following exchange of the entire partner strands, only a single physical strand cleavage would have occurred leaving a single single-strand break (three white squares). v) a second strand cleavage at the distal end of the donor IS occurs (dark blue circle) leaving its free 5’ flank (three orange squares). The 3’OH then attacks the distal target IS end (shown as two dotted circles joined by a dotted line). vi) strand transfer then generates a cointegrate with single-strand nicks at each end on opposite strands (white and orange squares) which could then be repaired. Note that the cointegrate retains the original flanking repeats of the target IS (three bright red and three dark red squares).


Conclusions and Future Directions

We have presented a survey of our present knowledge concerning the properties, distribution and activities of IS6 family members and their importance, in particular that of IS26, in gene acquisition and gene flow of antibacterial resistance in enterobacteria. There are many questions which remain to be answered and we feel that some care should be exercised in interpreting some of the very interesting results in the absence of formal proof. For example, the notion that the basic IS6 family transposition unit is a non-replicative circular DNA molecule carrying a single IS copy is attractive and would provide a nice parallel to the integron antibiotic resistance gene cassette intermediates ��[113–115]� but such a molecule, a TU, has thus far been formally observed in only a single case. It was generated in vivo from an IS26-flanked peudo-transposon in which one of the two flanking IS involved included a mutation and rendered the transposon unstable. The “wildtype” transposon was stable ��[99]�. Since “TU” is now being used in the literature to describe IS26-flanked DNA segments in multimeric arrays (e.g. ��[87]�, it is essential to provide more formal evidence that these non-replicative DNA circles are indeed general intermediates in the IS26 transposition pathway and are not simply amplified units (AU). The fact that a replicating plasmid containing a single IS copy is able to form cointegrates does not à priori support a model for TU transposition and is not necessarily simply a TU that has the capacity to replicate ��[100]� although the observation that artificially constructed TU can undergo targeted insertion when introduced into a suitable cell by transformation ��[98]� supports the TU hypothesis. A second important question to be answered is how targeted integration occurs. We have suggested one model and suggested ways it might be tested (Fig. IS6.14). The answers to many of these fascinating outstanding questions will be provided when the biochemistry of the reactions is known.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Susu He (Nanjing University) for stimulating discussions concerning the transposition models and for supplying the IS26 transposase secondary structure predictions in Fig. IS6.2 C).


Bibliography

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Galas DJ, Chandler M. Bacterial Insertion Sequences. In: Berg DE, Howe MM, editors. Mob DNA. Washington, D.C.: American Society for Microbiology; 1989. p. 109–162.
  2. ↑ Berg DE, Davies J, Allet B, Rochaix JD. Transposition of R factor genes to bacteriophage lambda. ProcNatlAcadSciUSA. 1975;72:3628–3632.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Labigne-Roussel A, Courvalin P. IS15, a new insertion sequence widely spread in R plasmids of gram- negative bacteria. MolGenGenet. 1983;189:102–112.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Trieu-Cuot P, Courvalin P. Nucleotide sequence of the transposable element IS15. Gene. 1984;30:113–120.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 <pubmed>2994132</pubmed>
  6. ↑ <pubmed>PMC326375</pubmed>
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 <pubmed>PMC326375</pubmed>
  8. ↑ <pubmed>3003524</pubmed>
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 <pubmed>PMC215669</pubmed>
  10. ↑ Nucken EJ, Henschke RB, Schmidt FR. Nucleotide-sequence of insertion element IS15 delta IV from plasmid pBP11. DNA Seq. 1990;1:85–88.
  11. ↑ <pubmed>6304469</pubmed>
  12. ↑ <pubmed>2999303</pubmed>
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Colonna B, Bernardini M, Micheli G, Maimone F, Nicoletti M, Casalino M. The Salmonella wien virulence plasmid pZM3 carries Tn1935, a multiresistance transposon containing a composite IS1936- kanamycin resistance element. Plasmid. 1988;20:221–231.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 <pubmed>PMC162495</pubmed>
  15. ↑ <pubmed>PMC305975</pubmed>
  16. ↑ <pubmed>32871211</pubmed>
  17. ↑ <pubmed>2842323</pubmed>
  18. ↑ <pubmed>PMC1196216</pubmed>
  19. ↑ <pubmed>PMC3195058</pubmed>
  20. ↑ <pubmed>PMC3587239</pubmed>
  21. ↑ <pubmed>PMC219079</pubmed>
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 <pubmed>PMC209129</pubmed>
  23. ↑ Barberis-Maino L, Berger-Bachi B, Weber H, Beck WD, Kayser FH. IS431, a staphylococcal insertion sequence-like element related to IS26 from Proteus vulgaris. Gene. 1987;59:107–113.
  24. ↑ <pubmed>PMC174916</pubmed>
  25. ↑ <pubmed>3033719</pubmed>
  26. ↑ <pubmed>2543009</pubmed>
  27. ↑ Sundstrom L, Jansson C, Bremer K, Heikkila E, Olsson-Liljequist B, Skold O. A new dhfrVIII trimethoprim-resistance gene, flanked by IS26, whose product is remote from other dihydrofolate reductases in parsimony analysis. Gene. 1995;154:7–14.
  28. ↑ <pubmed>19074421</pubmed>
  29. ↑ <pubmed>21393132</pubmed>
  30. ↑ <pubmed>PMC284528</pubmed>
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 <pubmed>PMC6807381</pubmed>
  32. ↑ <pubmed>PMC1847376</pubmed>
  33. ↑ <pubmed>PMC101833</pubmed>
  34. ↑ <pubmed>19286454</pubmed>
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 <pubmed>30753435</pubmed>
  36. ↑ Trieu-Cuot P, Courvalin P. Transposition behavior of IS15 and its progenitor IS15-Δ: Are cointegrates exclusive end products? Plasmid. 1985 Jul;14(1):80–89.
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 <pubmed>2163027</pubmed>
  38. ↑ <pubmed>PMC205175</pubmed>
  39. ↑ <pubmed>PMC196970</pubmed>
  40. ↑ <pubmed>1648560</pubmed>
  41. ↑ <pubmed>PMC90453</pubmed>
  42. ↑ 42.0 42.1 <pubmed>PMC167566</pubmed>
  43. ↑ <pubmed>10930753</pubmed>
  44. ↑ <pubmed>25291385</pubmed>
  45. ↑ 45.0 45.1 45.2 45.3 <pubmed>PMC101884</pubmed>
  46. ↑ 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.3 46.4 <pubmed>PMC284724</pubmed>
  47. ↑ 47.0 47.1 <pubmed>PMC2443897</pubmed>
  48. ↑ 48.0 48.1 Allmansberger R, Brau B, Piepersberg W. Genes for gentamicin-(3)-N-acetyl-transferases III and IV. II. Nucleotide sequences of three AAC(3)-III genes and evolutionary aspects. MolGenGenet. 1985;198:514–520.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 <pubmed>3892230</pubmed>
  50. ↑ Rouch D, Skurray R. IS257 from Staphylococcus aureus member of an insertion sequence superfamily Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. Gene. 1989;76:195–205.
  51. ↑ Rouch DA, Messerotti LJ, Loo SL, Jackson CA, Skurray RA. Trimethoprim resistance transposon Tn4003 from Staphylococcus aureus encodes genes for a dihydrofolate reductase and thymidylate synthetase flanked by three copies of IS257. Mol Microbiol. 1989;3:161–175.
  52. ↑ Stewart PR, Dubin DT, Chikramane SG, Inglis B, Matthews PR, Poston SM. IS257 and small plasmid insertions in the mec region of the chromosome of Staphylococcus aureus. Plasmid. 1994;31:12–20.
  53. ↑ <pubmed>PMC107441</pubmed>
  54. ↑ <pubmed>7830550</pubmed>
  55. ↑ <pubmed>8052160</pubmed>
  56. ↑ <pubmed>PMC89260</pubmed>
  57. ↑ <pubmed>PMC7190074</pubmed>
  58. ↑ <pubmed>26104715</pubmed>
  59. ↑ <pubmed>PMC268253</pubmed>
  60. ↑ <pubmed>PMC330226</pubmed>
  61. ↑ <pubmed>8098974</pubmed>
Retrieved from "https://tncentral.ncc.unesp.br/TnPedia/index.php?title=IS_Families/IS6_family&oldid=1885"