Evolution of genome organization in Oenococcus oeni revealed by physical and genetic map comparison Authors Líbia Zé-Zé CEVDI, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, INSA Ivo M. Chelo Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência Rogério Tenreiro Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Biodiversidade, Genómica Integrativa e Funcional (BioFIG) Keywords: Oenococcus oeni, physical mapping, genomic organization Abstract The genomic organization of nine strains of Oenococcus oeni belonging to two previously suggested divergent groups was examined by a top-down approach, including analysis of isolated genes and construction of physical and genetic maps. Genomic sequence data from Oenococcus oeni strain PSU-1 was also examined by a bottom-up approach, using sequence data accessible from Joint Genome Institute, which enabled the confirmation of gene location and assessment of transcription direction. Comparison of genomic maps revealed O. oeni as a homogeneous species and supported the existence of two different genomic groups, although in a too much early phase of divergence to be considered as subspecies. O. oeni genomic organization is characterized by an unusual conserved distribution of the two rrn operons located at least 500 kb apart from the putative chromosome replication origin. Differential degrees of conservation may be observed in O. oeni chromosomes, being the neighbouring region of the replication terminus the most conserved one. Since most of the structural polymorphisms can be correlated to the presence of transposase genes and sites of prophage integration, occurrence of macrodiversity events, as insertions-deletions, duplications or inversions of larger genomic regions seems to be ruled out in O. oeni evolution. Author Biographies Líbia Zé-Zé, CEVDI, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, INSA CEVDI, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, INSA Ivo M. Chelo, Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência Rogério Tenreiro, Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Biodiversidade, Genómica Integrativa e Funcional (BioFIG) Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, Centro de Biodiversidade, Genómica Integrativa e Funcional (BioFIG) Downloads PDF Published 2010-09-21 Issue Vol. 11 No. 4 (2008) Section Research Articles License Submission of a manuscript to International Microbiology implies: that the work described has not been published before, including publication in the World Wide Web (except in the form of an Abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; that all the coauthors have agreed to its publication. The corresponding author signs for and accepts responsability for releasing this material and will act on behalf of any and all coauthors regarding the editorial review and publication process.If an article is accepted for publication in International Microbiology, the authors (or other copyright holder) must transfer to the journal the right–not exclusive–to reproduce and distribute the article including reprints, translations, photographic reproductions, microform, electronic form (offline, online) or any other reproductions of similar nature. Nevertheless, all article in International Microbiology will be available on the Internet to any reader at no cost. The journal allows users to freely download, copy, print, distribute, search, and link to the full text of any article, provided the authorship and source of the published article is cited. The copyright owner's consent does not include copying for new works, or resale. In these cases, the specific written permission of International Microbiology must first be obtained.Authors are requested to create a link to the published article on the journal's website. The link must be accompanied by the following text: "The original publication is available on LINK at <http://www.im.microbios.org>. Please use the appropiate URL for the article in LINK. Articles disseminated via LINK are indexed, abstracted, and referenced by many abstracting and information services, bibliographic networks, subscription agencies, library networks, and consortia.