DNA transfer in the gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori

The gastric pathogen Helicobacter pylori is one of the most genetically diverse bacteria. Recombination and DNA transfer contribute to its genetic variability and enhance host adaptation. Among the strategies described to increase genetic diversity in bacteria, DNA transfer by conjugation is one of the best characterized. Using this mechanism, a fragment of DNA from a donor cell can be transferred to a recipient, always mediated by a conjugative nucleoprotein complex, which is evolutionarily related to type IV secretion systems (T4SSs). Interestingly, the H. pylori chromosomes can encode up to four T4SSs, including the cagPAI, comB, tfs3, and tfs4 genes, some of which are known to promote chronic H. pylori infection. The T4SS encoded by the cagPAI mediates the injection of the effector protein CagA and proinflammatory signaling, and the comB system is involved in DNA uptake from the environment. However, the role of tfs3 and tfs4 is not yet clear. The presence of a functional XerD tyrosine recombinase and 5′AAAGAATG-3′ border sequences as well as two putative conjugative relaxases (Rlx1 and Rlx2), a coupling protein (TraG), and a chromosomal region carrying a putative origin of transfer (oriT) suggest the existence of a DNA transfer apparatus in tfs4. Moreover, a conjugation-like DNA transfer mechanism in H. pylori has already been described in vitro, but whether this occurs in vivo is still unknown. Some extrachromosomal plasmids and phages are also present in various H. pylori strains. Genetic exchange among plasmids and chromosomes, and involved DNA mobilization events, could explain part of H. pylori’s genetic diversity. Here, we review our knowledge about the possible DNA transfer mechanisms in H. pylori and its implications in bacterial adaptation to the host environment.