Splicing of the Sinorhizobium meliloti RmInt1 group II intron provides evidence of retroelement behavior.

ABSTRACT: Group II introns act as both large catalytic RNAs and mobile retroelements. They are found in organelle and bacterial genomes and are spliced via a lariat intermediate, in a mechanism similar to that of spliceosomal introns. However, their distribution and insertion patterns, particularly for bacterial group II introns, suggest that they function and behave more like retroelements than organelle introns. RmInt1 is an efficient mobile intron found within the ISRm2011-2 insertion sequence in the symbiotic bacterium Sinorhizobium meliloti. This group II intron is excised, in vivo and in vitro, as intron lariats. However, the complete splicing reaction in vivo remains to be elucidated. A lacZ reporter gene system, northern blotting and real-time reverse transcription were carried out to invest

SUBMITTER: Chillon I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3035460 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature