Stabilization of the genome of the mismatch repair deficient Mycobacterium tuberculosis by context-dependent codon choice.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The rate at which a stretch of DNA mutates is determined by the cellular systems for DNA replication and repair, and by the nucleotide sequence of the stretch itself. One sequence feature with a particularly strong influence on the mutation rate are nucleotide repeats. Some microbial pathogens use nucleotide repeats in their genome to stochastically vary phenotypic traits and thereby evade host defense. However, such unstable sequences also come at a cost, as mutations are often deleterious. Here, we analyzed how these opposing forces shaped genome stability in the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis. M. tuberculosis lacks a mismatch repair system, and this renders nucleotide repeats particularly unstable.

Results

We found that proteins of M. tuberculosis ar

SUBMITTER: Wanner RM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2430213 | biostudies-literature | 2008 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature