Location of the unique integration site on an Escherichia coli chromosome by bacteriophage lambda DNA in vivo.

ABSTRACT: The search for specific sequences on long genomes is a key process in many biological contexts. How can specific target sequences be located with high efficiency, within physiologically relevant times? We addressed this question for viral integration, a fundamental mechanism of horizontal gene transfer driving prokaryotic evolution, using the infection of Escherichia coli bacteria with bacteriophage λ and following the establishment of a lysogenic state. Following the targeting process in individual live E. coli cells in real time revealed that λ DNA remains confined near the entry point of a cell following infection. The encounter between the 15-bp-long target sequence on the chromosome and the recombination site on the viral genome is facilitated by the directed motion of bacterial DNA g

SUBMITTER: Tal A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4034188 | biostudies-literature | 2014 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature