Frequent nonhomologous replacement of replicative helicase loaders by viruses in Vibrionaceae.

ABSTRACT: Several microbial genomes lack textbook-defined essential genes. If an essential gene is absent from a genome, then an evolutionarily independent gene of unknown function complements its function. Here, we identified frequent nonhomologous replacement of an essential component of DNA replication initiation, a replicative helicase loader gene, in Vibrionaceae. Our analysis of Vibrionaceae genomes revealed two genes with unknown function, named vdhL1 and vdhL2, that were substantially enriched in genomes without the known helicase-loader genes. These genes showed no sequence similarities to genes with known function but encoded proteins structurally similar with a viral helicase loader. Analyses of genomic syntenies and coevolution with helicase genes suggested th

SUBMITTER: Tominaga K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11087808 | biostudies-literature | 2024 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature