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Occurrence and Expression of Gene Transfer Agent Genes in Marine Bacterioplankton

Erin J. Biers,^1, Kui Wang,² Catherine Pennington,³ Robert Belas,² Feng Chen,² and Mary Ann Moran^1*

Department of Marine Sciences, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602,¹ Center of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute, Baltimore, Maryland 21202,² Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602³

Received 17 September 2007/ Accepted 5 March 2008

Genes with homology to the transduction-like gene transfer agent (GTA) were observed in genome sequences of three cultured members of the marine Roseobacter clade. A broader search for homologs for this host-controlled virus-like gene transfer system identified likely GTA systems in cultured Alphaproteobacteria, and particularly in marine bacterioplankton representatives. Expression of GTA genes and extracellular release of GTA particles (50 to 70 nm) was demonstrated experimentally for the Roseobacter clade member Silicibacter pomeroyi DSS-3, and intraspecific gene transfer was documented. GTA homologs are surprisingly infrequent in marine metagenomic sequence data, however, and the role of this lateral gene transfer mechanism in ocean bacterioplankton communities remains unclear.

Published ahead of print on 21 March 2008.

Present address: Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208.