Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) are agents of bacterial evolution and adaptation. Genome sequencing provides an unbiased approach that has revealed an abundance of MGEs in prokaryotes, mainly plasmids and integrative conjugative elements. Nevertheless, many mobilomes, particularly those from environmental bacteria, remain underexplored despite their representing a reservoir of genes that can later emerge in the clinic. Here, we explored the mobilome of the Mycobacteriaceae family, focusing on strains from Brazilian Atlantic Forest soil. Novel Mycolicibacterium and Mycobacteroides strains were identified, with the former ones harbouring linear and circular plasmids encoding the specialized type-VII secretion system (T7SS) and mobility-associated genes. In addition, we also identified a T4SS-mediated integrative conjugative element (ICEMyc226) encoding two T7SSs and a number of xenobiotic degrading genes. Our study uncovers the diversity of the Mycobacteriaceae mobilome, providing the evidence of an ICE in this bacterial family. Moreover, the presence of T7SS genes in an ICE, as well as plasmids, highlights the role of these mobile genetic elements in the dispersion of T7SS.

中文翻译：

---

大西洋森林分枝杆菌科菌株的基因组学揭示了具有新型整合结合元件和带有T7SS的质粒的动植物多样性。

流动遗传元件（MGE）是细菌进化和适应的媒介。基因组测序提供了一种无偏见的方法，该方法揭示了原核生物中大量的MGE，主要是质粒和整合性结合元件。尽管如此，许多动植物，特别是来自环境细菌的动植物，尽管它们代表着可以在临床上出现的基因库，但仍未得到充分开发。在这里，我们探讨了分枝杆菌科的运动集，重点研究了来自巴西大西洋森林土壤的菌株。新Mycolicibacterium和Mycobacteroides 确定了菌株，前者带有线性和环状质粒，它们编码专门的VII型分泌系统（T7SS）和与流动性相关的基因。此外，我们还确定了一个T4SS介导的整合共轭元件（ICEMyc226），它编码两个T7SS和许多异种降解基因。我们的研究揭示了分枝杆菌科运动组的多样性，为该细菌家族中的ICE提供了证据。此外，ICE中T7SS基因以及质粒的存在突出了这些移动遗传元件在T7SS分散中的作用。