Two self-splicing group I introns in the ribonucleotide reductase large subunit gene of Staphylococcus aureus phage Twort.

ABSTRACT: We have recently described three group I introns inserted into a single gene, orf142, of the staphylococcal bacteriophage Twort and suggested the presence of at least two additional self-splicing introns in this phage genome. Here we report that two previously uncharacterized introns, 429 and 1087 nt in length, interrupt the Twort gene coding for the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (nrdE). Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of RNA isolated from Staphylococcus aureus after phage infection indicates that the introns are removed from the primary transcript in vivo. Both nrdE introns show sequence similarity to the Twort orf142 introns I2 and I3, suggesting either a common origin of these introns or shuffling of intron structural elements. Intron 2 encodes a DNA

SUBMITTER: Landthaler M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC113830 | biostudies-literature | 2002 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature