Coding tandem repeats generate diversity in Aspergillus fumigatus genes.

ABSTRACT: Genes containing multiple coding mini- and microsatellite repeats are highly dynamic components of genomes. Frequent recombination events within these tandem repeats lead to changes in repeat numbers, which in turn alters the amino acid sequence of the corresponding protein. In bacteria and yeasts, the expansion of such coding repeats in cell wall proteins is associated with alterations in immunogenicity, adhesion, and pathogenesis. We hypothesized that identification of repeat-containing putative cell wall proteins in the human pathogen Aspergillus fumigatus may reveal novel pathogenesis-related elements. Here, we report that the genome of A. fumigatus contains as many as 292 genes with internal repeats. Fourteen of 30 selected genes showed size variation of their repeat-containing region

SUBMITTER: Levdansky E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1951137 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature