Genomic insights into the plasmidome of non-tuberculous mycobacteria
Our analysis demonstrates that plasmids are a diverse and heterogeneously distributed feature in NTM bacteria. The frequent occurrence of closely related putative plasmid sequences across different NTM species suggests they may play a significant role in NTM evolution through horizontal gene transfer at least in some groups of NTM. However, further in vitro investigations and access to more complete genomes are necessary to validate our findings, elucidate gene functions, identify novel plasmids, and comprehensively assess the role of plasmids in NTM.
Authors
- Margo Diricks (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5428-1456)
- Florian P. Maurer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8353-5964)
- Ivan Barilar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4789-2777)
- Nils Wetzstein (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5589-4668)
- Christian Utpatel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5416-8253)
- Matthias Merker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1386-2331)
- Viola Dreyer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2997-3693)
- Stefan Niemann
Institutions
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- German Center for Infection Research (DE)
- Research Center Borstel - Leibniz Lung Center (DE)
- University Hospital Frankfurt (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Genome Medicine
- Published
- 2025-03-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13073-025-01443-7
- Citations
- 5
- Primary Topic
- Mycobacterium research and diagnosis
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 6.77