Plant enzymes but not Agrobacterium VirD2 mediate T-DNA ligation in vitro.
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Agrobacterium tumefaciens, a gram-negative soil bacterium, transfers DNA to many plant species. In the plant cell, the transferred DNA (T-DNA) is integrated into the genome. An in vitro ligation-integration assay has been designed to investigate the mechanism of T-DNA ligation and the factors involved in this process. The VirD2 protein, which is produced in Agrobacterium and is covalently attached to T-DNA, did not, under our assay conditions, ligate T-DNA to a model target sequence in vitro. We tested whether plant extracts could ligate T-DNA to target oligonucleotides in our test system. The in vitro ligation-integration reaction did indeed take place in the presence of plant extracts. This reaction was inhibited by dTTP, indicating involvement of a plant DNA ligase. We found that prokaryotic DNA ligases could substitute for plant extracts in this reaction. Ligation of the VirD2-bound oligonucleotide to the target sequence mediated by T4 DNA ligase was less efficient than ligation of a free oligonucleotide to the target. T-DNA ligation mediated by a plant enzyme(s) or T4 DNA ligase requires ATP. (+info)
Genetic variation of dTDP-L-rhamnose pathway genes in Salmonella enterica.
(50/803)
The genetic variation in the dTDP-L-rhamnose pathway gene set (rmlB, rmlD, rmlA, rmlC) in Salmonella enterica was examined after sequencing the four genes from 11 rml-containing gene clusters encoding seven O antigens, and a 903 bp rmlB segment from another 23 strains representing the seven subspecies. There was considerable sequence variation and strong polarity in the nature and level of variation among rml genes. The 5' end of the rml gene set, including rmlB, rmlD and most of rmlA, is in general subspecies specific. In contrast, the 3' end, including part of rmlA and all of rmlC, is O antigen specific. The G+C content of the 3' end is lower than that of the 5' end. The variation in the 3' end of the gene set is much greater than that of the 5' end. It is apparent that the rml gene set of S. enterica includes genes with two different evolutionary histories. In addition, there has been extensive recombination in the gene set, probably related to O antigen transfer between subspecies. These findings provide evidence for the lateral transfer of O antigen genes between species and among subspecies of S. enterica. The results have also shown that conserved genes at the end of an O antigen gene cluster play a major role in mediating exchange of the central serogroup-specific regions. (+info)
Ribonucleic acid destruction and synthesis during intraperiplasmic growth of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.
(51/803)
During growth of Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus on (2-14C)uracil-labeled Escherichia coli approximately 50% of the radioactivity is incorporated by the bdellovibrio and most of the remainder is released as free nucleic acid bases. Kinetic studies showed that 50 and 30S ribosomal particles and 23 and 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (RNA) of E. coli are almost completely degraded by the first 90 min in a 210- to 240-min bdellovibrio developmental cycle. Synthesis of bdellovibrio ribosomal RNA was first detected after 90 min. The specific activity and the ratio of radioactivity in the bases of the synthesized bdellovibrio RNA was essentially the same as those of the substrate E. coli. The total radioactivity of the bdellovibrio deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) exceeded that in the DNA of the substrate E. coli cell, and the ratio of radioactivity of cytosine to thymine residues differed. Intraperiplasmic growth of B. bacteriovorus in the presence of added nucleoside monophosphates (singly or in combination) significantly decreased the uptake of radioactivity from (2-14C)uracil-labeled E. coli; nucleosides or nucleic acid bases did not. It is concluded that the RNA of the substrate cell, in the form of nucleoside monophosphates, is the major or exclusive precursor of the bdellovirbrio RNA and also serves as a precursor for some of the bdellovibrio DNA. (+info)
A gene cluster for the synthesis of serotype d-specific polysaccharide antigen in Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans.
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The serotype d antigen of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans consists of D-glucose, D-mannose, and L-rhamnose in a molar ratio of 1:2:1. A gene cluster involved in the synthesis of serotype-specific polysaccharide antigen was cloned from the chromosomal DNA of A. actinomycetemcomitans IDH 781 (serotype d). This cluster consisted of 12 open reading frames. Insertional inactivation of six genes in this cluster resulted in loss of ability of A. actinomycetemcomitans IDH 781 cells to produce the polysaccharide. Comparing the structure of the gene cluster with similar clusters from other serotypes of A. actinomycetemcomitans, showed that eight genes are unique to serotype d; the other four genes are involved in the biosynthesis of dTDP-L-rhamnose. These results suggest that the synthesis and structure of serotype d-specific polysaccharide of A. actinomycetemcomitans is quite different from those of other serotype strains. (+info)
Preferential incorporation of G opposite template T by the low-fidelity human DNA polymerase iota.
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DNA polymerase activity is essential for replication, recombination, repair, and mutagenesis. All DNA polymerases studied so far from any biological source synthesize DNA by the Watson-Crick base-pairing rule, incorporating A, G, C, and T opposite the templates T, C, G, and A, respectively. Non-Watson-Crick base pairs would lead to mutations. In this report, we describe the ninth human DNA polymerase, Pol(iota), encoded by the RAD30B gene. We show that human Pol(iota) violates the Watson-Crick base-pairing rule opposite template T. During base selection, human Pol(iota) preferred T-G base pairing, leading to G incorporation opposite template T. The resulting T-G base pair was less efficiently extended by human Pol(iota) compared to the Watson-Crick base pairs. Consequently, DNA synthesis frequently aborted opposite template T, a property we designated the T stop. This T stop restricted human Pol(iota) to a very short stretch of DNA synthesis. Furthermore, kinetic analyses show that human Pol(iota) copies template C with extraordinarily low fidelity, misincorporating T, A, and C with unprecedented frequencies of 1/9, 1/10, and 1/11, respectively. Human Pol(iota) incorporated one nucleotide opposite a template abasic site more efficiently than opposite a template T, suggesting a role for human Pol(iota) in DNA lesion bypass. The unique features of preferential G incorporation opposite template T and T stop suggest that DNA Pol(iota) may additionally play a specialized function in human biology. (+info)
"Cytoplasmic" deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase. Structure and properties of the highly purified enzyme from human KB cells.
(54/803)
The freshly prepared crude cytoplasmic fraction of aqueously extracted KB cells contains a single major species of DNA polymerase activity (DNA polymerase C) that sediments homogeneously in low ionic strength sucrose gradients with a peak at 10.8 S. The enzyme activity from frozen crude extracts sediments heterogeneously under these conditions with peaks at 8.4 and 10 S. In 0.45 M salt-containing gradients all of the polymerase activity is recovered as a single 6.4 S species. When purified to a specific activity of 7,300, DNA polymerase C sediments in low ionic strength gradients as a single species of 6.5 S. From combined sedimentation and gel filtration analysis, we estimate the molecular weight of the active protomeric species of the polymerase to be about 170,000. Under no conditions of ionic strength does the enzyme disaggregate to active species smaller than 6.4 to 6.5 S. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel analysis of the most highly purified enzyme fractions reveals two major protein bands of 87,000 and 175,000 daltons, respectively. These data suggest that DNA polymerase C contains an 87,000-dalton component and permit the interpretation that the active protomer of Mr equal 170,000 may be a dimer. The purified enzyme shows maximal activity with gapped duplex DNA and has an absolute requirement for 3'-hydroxyl termini. It utilizes initiated polydeoxynucleotide templates poorly and initiated polyribonucleotide templates not at all. Although the polymerase is inhibited by PPi it has only minimal ability to promote PPi exchange (0.8% of the polymerase activity). The purified enzyme is free of endonuclease and exonuclease activities (less than or equal to 0.003% of the polymerase activity) and demonstrates no primer-template-dependent conversion of substrate dNTP to free dNMP during the polymerization reaction. Finally, DNA polymerase C does not excise misparied primer termini from a synthetic homopolymer primer-template but can utilize such termini as initiation sites, although at a very slow rate. (+info)
Isolation and properties of a thymidylate-less mutant in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
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A mutant, tmp3, has been isolated in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Genetic and physiological analysis show that a single mendelian gene controls the multiple requirements for thymidylate, methionine, adenine and histidine and a neutral cytoplasmic petite character. Crude extracts of this mutant present a 60% decrease of serine transhydroxymethylase specific activity as compared to a wild-type strain. (+info)
An inhibitory effect of thymidine on its own conversion to nucleotide in Escherichia coli.
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The cellular levels of thymidine nucleotide pool in thymine-requiring mutants of Escherichia coli were followed. The pool levels of dTDP, dTTP and compound-X reached maximal values in much lower concentration of thymidine than those in thymine. In higher concentrations of thymidine, an inhibitory effect on its own conversion to nucleotide was observed. The inhibited step was suggested to be the conversion of dTMP to dTDP. (+info)