Reiter W D, Palm P, Yeats S
Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, Martinsried, FRG.
Nucleic Acids Res. 1989 Mar 11;17(5):1907-14. doi: 10.1093/nar/17.5.1907.
The DNA sequences were determined at the boundaries of the integrated copy of the archaebacterial genetic element SSV1. A 44 bp sequence present as a single copy on the 15.5 kb circular SSV1 DNA flanked the integrated copy as a direct DNA sequence repeat, suggesting that SSV1 integration occurred by recombination between this 44 bp SSV1 sequence and an identical sequence on the bacterial chromosome. At the left attachment site, a region encompassing the 44 bp attachment core sequence and the 31 nucleotides upstream of it displayed all characteristics expected for an arginine tRNA gene. An analysis of published attachment site sequences of other systems revealed that tRNA genes also constitute the bacterial attachment site in the case of three temperate phages and two transmissible plasmids in eubacteria, indicating a widespread occurrence of tRNA genes as integration target sites. This finding may be important for the understanding of mechanisms and evolution of site-specific recombination.
测定了古细菌遗传元件SSV1整合拷贝边界处的DNA序列。在15.5 kb的环状SSV1 DNA上以单拷贝形式存在的一段44 bp序列,作为直接DNA序列重复位于整合拷贝两侧,这表明SSV1的整合是通过该44 bp的SSV1序列与细菌染色体上的相同序列之间的重组发生的。在左侧附着位点,一个包含44 bp附着核心序列及其上游31个核苷酸的区域表现出精氨酸tRNA基因所预期的所有特征。对其他系统已发表的附着位点序列分析表明,在真细菌中的三种温和噬菌体和两种可转移质粒的情况下,tRNA基因也构成细菌附着位点,这表明tRNA基因作为整合靶位点广泛存在。这一发现对于理解位点特异性重组的机制和进化可能很重要。