Number of different linear and circular plasmids (other than linear chromosome)

Range ≥17 different plasmids/cell
Organism Bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi
Reference Fraser et al., Genomic sequence of a Lyme disease spirochaete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Nature. 1997 Dec 11 390(6660):580-6. abstractPubMed ID9403685
Primary Source [11] Barbour , A. G. & Garon, C. F . Linear plasmids of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi have covalently closed ends. Science 237, 409 – 411 (1987). [12] Barbour , A. G. Plasmid analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme disease agent. J. Clin. Microbiol. 26, 475 – 478 (1988). [13] Casjens, S., van Vugt, R., Stevenson, B., Tilly , K. & Rosa, P. Homology throughout the multiple 32- kilobase circular plasmids present in Lyme disease spirochetes. J. Bacteriol. 17, 217 – 227 (1997).PubMed ID3603026, 3356787, 8982001
Method "Here [researchers] summarize the results from sequencing, assembly and analysis of the linear chromosome and 11 plasmids."
Comments "The genome of the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi B31, the aetiologic agent of Lyme disease, contains a linear chromosome of 910,725 base pairs and at least 17 linear and circular plasmids with a combined size of more than 533,000 base pairs...One of the most striking features of B. burgdorferi is its unusual genome, which includes a linear chromosome approximately one megabase in size (refs 7–10) and numerous linear and circular plasmids (primary sources), with some isolates containing up to 20 different plasmids."
Entered by Uri M
ID 111257