High-throughput analyses of a reconstituted diversity-generating retroelement identify intrinsic and extrinsic determinants of diversification.

ABSTRACT: Diversity-Generating Retroelements (DGRs) are specialized genetic systems typically harnessed in nature to evolve new molecular recognition. This mechanism, known as mutagenic retrohoming, relies on an error-prone reverse transcriptase (bRT) that introduces errors at template adenines, followed by the incorporation of the resulting mutagenized complementary DNA (cDNA) into a homologous target gene. Although widely distributed, DGRs are conspicuously absent from key bacterial models, limiting our understanding of their functionality in these hosts and their potential as engineering tools. Here, we demonstrate the 'plug-and-play' nature of the Bordetella phage BPP-1 DGR by successfully reconstituting the mutagenic retrohoming mechanism in Escherichia coli. Using high-throughput tools availab

SUBMITTER: Unlu I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12875486 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature