Compiling Multicopy Single-Stranded DNA Sequences from Bacterial Genome Sequences.
- Author:
Wonseok YOO
1
;
Dongbin LIM
;
Sangsoo KIM
Author Information
- Publication Type:Original Article
- Keywords: msDNA; retron; reverse transcriptase; RNA secondary structure
- MeSH: Biotechnology; Chimera; DNA; DNA, Single-Stranded*; Genome, Bacterial*; Retroelements; Reverse Transcription; RNA; RNA-Directed DNA Polymerase
- From:Genomics & Informatics 2016;14(1):29-33
- CountryRepublic of Korea
- Language:English
- Abstract: A retron is a bacterial retroelement that encodes an RNA gene and a reverse transcriptase (RT). The former, once transcribed, works as a template primer for reverse transcription by the latter. The resulting DNA is covalently linked to the upstream part of the RNA; this chimera is called multicopy single-stranded DNA (msDNA), which is extrachromosomal DNA found in many bacterial species. Based on the conserved features in the eight known msDNA sequences, we developed a detection method and applied it to scan National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) RefSeq bacterial genome sequences. Among 16,844 bacterial sequences possessing a retron-type RT domain, we identified 48 unique types of msDNA. Currently, the biological role of msDNA is not well understood. Our work will be a useful tool in studying the distribution, evolution, and physiological role of msDNA.
