Domain Organization and Evolution of Multifunctional

The objective of this study was to analyze multifunctional autoprocessing repeats-in-toxin (MARTX) toxin domain organization within the aquatic species Vibrio vulnificus as well as to study the evolution of the rtxA1 gene. The species is subdivided into three biotypes that differ in host range and geographical distribution. We have found three different types (I, II, and III) of V. vulnificus MARTX (MARTXVv) toxins with common domains (an autocatalytic cysteine protease domain [CPD], an /-hydrolase domain, and a domain resem-bling that of the LifA protein of Escherichia coli O127:H6 E2348/69 [Efa/LifA]) and specific domains (a Rho-GTPase inactivation domain [RID], a domain of unknown function [DUF],a domain resembling that of the rtxA protein of Photorhabdus asymbiotica [rtxAPA], and an actin cross-linking domain [ACD]). Biotype 1 isolates harbor MARTXVv toxin types I and II, biotype 2 isolates carry MARTXVv toxin type III, and biotype 3 isolates have MARTXVv toxin type II. The analyzed biotype 2 isolates harbor two identical copies of rtxA1, one chromosomal and the other plasmidic. The evolutionary history of the gene demonstrates that MARTXVv toxins are mosaics, comprising pieces with different evolutionary histories, some of which have been acquired by intra- or interspecific horizontal gene transfer. Finally, we have found evidence that the evolutionary history of the rtxA1 gene for biotype 2 differs totally from the gene history of biotypes 1 and 3. Vibrio vulnificus is an “accidental ” pathogen, inhabitin