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. 2018 Apr;4(4):e000168.
doi: 10.1099/mgen.0.000168. Epub 2018 Apr 10.

Correlation between bacterial G+C content, genome size and the G+C content of associated plasmids and bacteriophages

Apostolos Almpanis  1   2 , Martin Swain  1 , Derek Gatherer  3 , Neil McEwan  1   4
Affiliations

Correlation between bacterial G+C content, genome size and the G+C content of associated plasmids and bacteriophages

Apostolos Almpanis et al. Microb Genom. 2018 Apr.

Abstract

Based on complete bacterial genome sequence data, we demonstrate a correlation between bacterial chromosome length and the G+C content of the genome, with longer genomes having higher G+C contents. The correlation value decreases at shorter genome sizes, where there is a wider spread of G+C values. However, although significant (P<0.001), the correlation value (Pearson R=0.58) suggests that other factors also have a significant influence. A similar pattern was seen for plasmids; longer plasmids had higher G+C values, although the large number of shorter plasmids had a wide spread of G+C values. There was also a significant (P<0.0001) correlation between the G+C content of plasmids and the G+C content of their bacterial host. Conversely, the G+C content of bacteriophages tended to reduce with larger genome sizes, and although there was a correlation between host genome G+C content and that of the bacteriophage, it was not as strong as that seen between plasmids and their hosts.

Keywords: bacteria; genome G+C content; genome length; plasmids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Scatterplot of G+C content versus sequence length for bacterial chromosomal sequences, showing an approximately triangular shape associated with their relation. Pearson’s R indicates that about 58 mol% of the G+C content variation can be explained by genome length, although there is also apparent heteroskedasticity. G+C content is plotted using values to the nearest percentage point.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Scatterplot of plasmid G+C content versus plasmid sequence length, showing an approximately rotated L-shape. G+C content is shown to the nearest mol% value.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.
Comparison of the G+C content of plasmids versus that of their host. G+C content is shown to the nearest mol% value.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.
Scatterplot of phage G+C content versus phage sequence length, showing that longer phages tend to have a lower G+C content. G+C content is shown to the nearest mol% value.
Fig. 5.
Fig. 5.
Comparison of the G+C content of phages versus that of their host. G+C content is shown to the nearest mol% value.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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