Novel Tn4371-ICE like element in Ralstonia pickettii and Genome mining for comparative elements

BACKGROUND: Integrative Conjugative Elements (ICEs) are important factors in the plasticity of microbial genomes. An element related to the ICE Tn4371 was discovered during a bioinformatic search of the Ralstonia pickettii 12J genome. This element was analysed and further searches carried out for additional elements. A PCR method was designed to detect and characterise new elements of this type based on this scaffold and a culture collection of fifty-eight Ralstonia pickettii and Ralstonia insidiosa strains were analysed for the presence of the element. RESULTS: Comparative sequence analysis of bacterial genomes has revealed the presence of a number of uncharacterised Tn4371-like ICEs in the genomes of several β and γ- Proteobacteria. These elements vary in size, GC content, putative function and have a mosaic-like structure of plasmid- and phage-like sequences which is typical of Tn4371-like ICEs. These elements were found after a through search of the GenBank database. The elements, which are found in Ralstonia, Delftia, Acidovorax, Bordetella, Comamonas, Acidovorax, Congregibacter, Shewanella, Pseudomonas Stenotrophomonas, Thioalkalivibrio sp. HL-EbGR7, Polaromonas, Burkholderia and Diaphorobacter sp. share a common scaffold. A PCR method was designed (based on the Tn4371- like element detected in the Ralstonia pickettii 12J genome) to detect and characterise new elements of this type. CONCLUSION: All elements found in this study possess a common scaffold of core genes but contain different accessory genes. A new uniform nomenclature is suggested for ICEs of the Tn4371 family. Two novel Tn4371-like ICE were discovered and characterised, using the novel PCR method described in two different isolates of Ralstonia pickettii from laboratory purified water.