Efficiency of integron cassette insertion in correct orientation is ensured by the interplay of the three unpaired features of attC recombination sites.

ABSTRACT: The integron is a bacterial recombination system that allows acquisition, stockpiling and expression of cassettes carrying protein-coding sequences, and is responsible for the emergence and rise of multiresistance in Gram-negative bacteria. The functionality of this system depends on the insertion of promoterless cassettes in correct orientation, allowing their expression from the promoter located upstream of the cassette array. Correct orientation is ensured by strand selectivity of integron integrases for the bottom strand of cassette recombination sites (attC), recombined in form of folded single-stranded hairpins. Here, we investigated the basis of such strand selectivity by comparing recombination of wild-type and mutated attC sites with different lengths, sequences and structures. We

SUBMITTER: Nivina A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5027507 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature