A barrier to homologous recombination between sympatric strains of the cooperative soil bacterium Myxococcus xanthus

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Abstract

The bacterium Myxococcus xanthus glides through soil in search of prey microbes, but when food sources run out, cells cooperatively construct and sporulate within multicellular fruiting bodies. M. xanthus strains isolated from a 16 × 16-cm-scale patch of soil were previously shown to have diversified into many distinct compatibility types that are distinguished by the failure of swarming colonies to merge upon encounter. We sequenced the genomes of 22 isolates from this population belonging to the two most frequently occurring multilocus sequence type (MLST) clades to trace patterns of incipient genomic divergence, specifically related to social divergence. Although homologous recombination occurs frequently within the two MLST clades, we find an almost complete absence of recombination events between them. As the two clades are very closely related and live in sympatry, either ecological or genetic barriers must reduce genetic exchange between them. We find that the rate of change in the accessory genome is greater than the rate of amino-acid substitution in the core genome. We identify a large genomic tract that consistently differs between isolates that do not freely merge and therefore is a candidate region for harbouring gene(s) responsible for self/non-self discrimination.

Item Type: Journal Article
Divisions: Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Science > Life Sciences (2010- )
Journal or Publication Title: The ISME Journal
Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
ISSN: 1751-7362
Official Date: 5 April 2016
Dates:
Date
Event
5 April 2016
Published
2 February 2016
Accepted
Volume: 10
Number: 10
Page Range: pp. 2468-2477
DOI: 10.1038/ismej.2016.34
Status: Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons open licence)
Related URLs:
URI: https://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/109113/

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