A new subgroup of the IS3 family and properties of its representative member ISPpy1.

Recently, we described a novel insertion element, ISPpy1, isolated from a permafrost strain of Psychrobacter maritimus. In this work, we demonstrated that ISPpy1 is a member of a novel subgroup of the IS3 family of insertion sequences (ISs) that was not identified and characterized previously. IS elements of this subgroup termed the ISPpy1 subgroup are broadly distributed among different taxa of Eubacteria, including Geobacteraceae, Chlorobiaceae, Desulfobacteraceae, Methylobacteriaceae, Nitrosomonadaceae and Cyanobacteria.

Tn5045, a novel integron-containing antibiotic and chromate resistance transposon isolated from a permafrost bacterium.

A novel antibiotic and chromate resistance transposon, Tn5045, was isolated from a permafrost strain of Pseudomonas sp. Tn5045 is a compound transposon composed of three distinct genetic elements. The backbone element is a Tn1013-like Tn3 family transposon, termed Tn1013∗, that contains the tnpA and the tnpR genes, encoding the transposase and resolvase, respectively, the res-site and four genes (orfA, B, C, D) related to different house-keeping genes.

Molecular structure and translocation of a multiple antibiotic resistance region of a Psychrobacter psychrophilus permafrost strain.

A Psychrobacter psychrophilus strain resistant to tetracycline and streptomycin was isolated from a 15,000-35,000-year-old permafrost subsoil sediment sampled from the coast of the Eastern-Siberian Sea. The genes conferring antibiotic resistance were localized on an c. 30-kb pKLH80 plasmid.