Role of natural transformation in the evolution of small cryptic plasmids in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803
Open accessAbstract
Small cryptic plasmids have no clear effect on the host fitness and their functional repertoire remains obscure. The naturally competent cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 harbours several small cryptic plasmids; whether their evolution with this species is supported by horizontal transfer remains understudied. Here, we show that the small cryptic plasmid DNA is transferred in the population exclusively by natural transformation, where the transfer frequency of plasmid-encoded genes is similar to that of chromosome-encoded genes. Establishing a system to follow gene transfer, we compared the transfer frequency of genes encoded in cryptic plasmids pCA2.4 (2378 bp) and pCB2.4 (2345 bp) within and between populations of two Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 labtypes (termed Kiel and Sevilla). Our results reveal that plasmid gene transfer frequency depends on the recipient labtype. Furthermore, gene transfer via whole plasmid uptake in the Sevilla labtype ranged among the lowest detected transfer rates in our experiments. Our study indicates that horizontal DNA transfer via natural transformation is frequent in the evolution of small cryptic plasmids that reside in naturally competent organisms. Furthermore, we suggest that the contribution of natural transformation to cryptic plasmid persistence in Synechocystis is limited.
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Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 is particularly valued for its innate competence for DNA uptake, facilitating the introduction of exogenous DNA into its genome via homologous recombination.
“This unicellular freshwater cyanobacterium is particularly valued for its innate competence for DNA uptake, facilitating the introduction of exogenous DNA into its genome via homologous recombination [54].”
From Cyanobacteria as a Photosynthetic Chassis for Metabolic Pathway Engineering with Heterologous Gene Expression (2026) · cites this paper as [54]
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“This unicellular freshwater cyanobacterium is particularly valued for its innate competence for DNA uptake, facilitating the introduction of exogenous DNA into its genome via homologous recombination [54].”
- Authors
- Nies, F., Wein, T., Hanke, D. M., Springstein, B. L., Alcorta, J., Taubenheim, C., & Dagan, T.
- Affiliations
- Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (DE)
- Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL)
- Corresponding author
- Nies, Fabian
- Dagan, Tal
- Venue
- Environmental Microbiology Reports
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2023-10-04
- Volume
- 15
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 656-668
- ISSN
- 1758-2229 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC10667661
- OpenAlex
- W4387357451
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 73
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3
- FWCI
- 0.82
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Environmental Microbiology Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Multimedialen Archiv und Publikationsserver der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel (Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo (21191763)
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (456882089, RTG2501)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Bacterial Genetics and Biotechnology
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Evolution and Genetic Dynamics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Bacteriophages and microbial interactions
- Keywords
- natural transformation, cryptic plasmid, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, horizontal gene transfer, plasmid evolution, plasmid persistence, plasmid transfer frequency, cyanobacteria
- MeSH terms
- DNA, Plasmids, Synechocystis
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