Robart A R, Zimmerly S
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Cytogenet Genome Res. 2005;110(1-4):589-97. doi: 10.1159/000084992.
Group II introns are a class of retroelements capable of carrying out both self-splicing and retromobility reactions. In recent years, the number of known group II introns has increased dramatically, particularly in bacteria, and the new information is altering our understanding of these intriguing elements. Here we review the basic properties of group II introns, and summarize the differences between the organellar and bacterial introns with regard to structures, insertion patterns and inferred behaviors. We also discuss the evolution of group II introns, as they are the putative ancestors of spliceosomal introns and possibly non-LTR retroelements, and may have played an important role in the development of eukaryote genomes.
II类内含子是一类逆转录元件，能够进行自我剪接和逆转移动反应。近年来，已知的II类内含子数量急剧增加，尤其是在细菌中，这些新信息正在改变我们对这些有趣元件的理解。在这里，我们回顾了II类内含子的基本特性，并总结了细胞器内含子和细菌内含子在结构、插入模式和推测行为方面的差异。我们还讨论了II类内含子的进化，因为它们被认为是剪接体内含子和可能的非LTR逆转录元件的祖先，并且可能在真核生物基因组的发展中发挥了重要作用。
